The Pharisees and Sadducees have been testing Jesus about who he is. Later, “Jesus asked his disciples, ‘Who do people say that the Son of Man is?’ Jesus is letting rulers know who he is, a person of integrity. He is letting the people know through the communities he’s building that they too are…
Jesus’ parable about nature addresses who and what harms us and who and what nurtures us. “The seed sown on the path is the one who hears the word of the Community of God without understanding it, and the evil one comes and steals away what was sown in his heart.” “But the seed…
In a U.S. Empire whose wrathful and deadly Lord is celebrating the 250th birthday of its flag, our readings deal with Lords. Exodus tells us the Lord Yahweh is once again wrathful and threatening death, “You have seen for yourselves how I treated the Egyptians.” In Romans, Paul of Tarsus relays that same Lord…
Today’s Gospel according to John, used to celebrate the Trinity, tells us, “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son… Whoever believes in him will not be condemned, but whoever does not believe has already been condemned.” Perhaps the Gospel condemnation means to a less meaningful life. Supremacists within institutional Christianity…
Shortly after his crucifixion, “two of Jesus’ disciples were going to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus, and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred. And it happened that while they were conversing and debating, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them, but their eyes were prevented from…
The Gospel tells us that Jesus appears to disciples after the Resurrection and they are filled with “awe.” Thomas missed that first resurrection appearance. Later, Jesus draws him close, “Put your finger here and see my hands, and bring your hand and put it into my side.” Thomas too is filled with “awe.” Much…
In Isaiah, the Lord God declares that the Chosen people shall soon “rejoice” in victory, “as people make merry when dividing spoils” in war. Rival Assyrians, foreigners, will be crushed. It will happen when the Chosen warriors trust in their Lord God and stop trusting in the foreigners. Foreigners, especially those living among them,…
The Gospel tells us Jesus is born into a world made divisive, abusive, and deadly by rulers. The rulers are dominating the people, threatening Magi, and killing children. Jesus’ father, Joseph, understands the danger. He gathered his family together “and took the child and his mother by night and departed for Egypt.” Given the…
The Old Testament reading describes the establishment of holy rule, “All the elders of Israel” stood “before the Lord” to “anoint David King.” The king takes command of the army and its soldiers, tortures enemies, and kills people. It is the command king takes in the Gospel, specifically torturing and killing Jesus. As Jesus…
Today’s readings emphasize temples. The Old Testament prophet Ezekiel, who repeatedly calls the people sinners, emphasizes that the “Lord God’s” “temple” is a holy space. In the Gospel, Jesus disrupts the activities of the “temple” and, given its rulers’ activities in it, he challenges belief about holy space. Religion asserts a belief in humanity’s…