The lectionary invites us this Sunday to ponder Jesus’ prediction of his suffering and death in Jerusalem, Peter’s reaction, and Jesus’ response. It reminds us we’re caught between a sentence now and in the future. The passage is Matthew 16:21-28. Most bibles split it in half and supply the headings “Jesus Foretells His Death and …
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This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder the gospel passage which many translations title “Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ” (Matthew 16:13-20). The passage features Jesus and Peter and “the disciples,” the twelve members of Jesus’ inner circle. It tells of a conversation between them. By this time, Jesus has performed miraculous healings, exorcisms, …
July is cord blood awareness month. Cord blood is nutrient-rich blood which flows from a pregnant mother’s placenta to her baby via the umbilical cord[1]. The umbilical cord is the lifeline between mother and child. Ironically, this July my mother had another close shave with death. Early one morning, my mother complained that she wasn’t …
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Was Jesus incredibly rude to a desperate mother? Why didn’t his biographers bury the story? This Sunday the lectionary invites us to ponder Jesus’ encounter with a desperate woman, reported in the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 15, verses 21-28. The Gospel of Mark gives a parallel account, in chapter 7, verses 24-30. Matthew calls her …
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Why did Jesus water-walk but not teleport?[1] You know the report. After Jesus “fed the 5,000,” it was dark. But Jesus insisted[2] his disciples set off on a dangerous night journey across the sea (lake) of Galilee, without him, before he dismissed the crowds. There was a terrible storm. The disciples rowed for hours. They …
Why did Jesus enact the miracle of 5 loaves and 2 fish? There are four authorized accounts of the life of Jesus. Called “gospels,” they are named after their authors: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. All of them report Jesus’ miracle of “feeding the 5,000 (men).”[1] The gospel reading for this Sunday is Matthew’s account …
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If it has feathers, it’s a bird. If it runs on tracks, it’s a train. If he plays a guitar, he’s a guitarist. If she ??? she’s a Christian? This Sunday, we will hear two parables told by Jesus. The text is in the thirteenth chapter of the Gospel according to Matthew. As I wrote …
The sermon on Sunday moved me to think about shattered glass. I left with a burdened heart, carrying the word back. We notice glass in our daily lives in many forms that range from shower screens in our baths to our gadgets and the beauty of Kuala Lumpur’s skyline. Glass can be very fragile yet …
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The parable of the wheat and the tares (weeds) is one of the lections (readings) for this Sunday. Like all good parables, it doesn’t make immediate sense. Even after reading the explanation given by Jesus. It’s a parable, a simple story with deep, mystical meaning, often pushing the hearer into a corner, confronting him or …
“A year of colour and sex” is how the author puts it. He gushes. Over what? Over the abundant flowering of trees. In the jungles. He begins: It has been a year of colour and sex for the lowland rainforests of Malaysia and Indonesia. This [2019] is a “mast year,” when dozens of tree species …
