Hypocrisy, meaning, and the special calling of Lutherans This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder Mark 10:35-45. In March, I discussed this passage under the title A Good Leader Spends Himself. Then, I focused on servant leadership. Now, I’ll focus on suffering. Recently I heard the Canadian historian Dr Henry Abramson say that at …
This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to consider Mark 10:17-31. The English Standard Version supplies the passage with the title “The Rich Young Man.” We frequently use two measures of wealth. First is annual income. Second is capital, or value of properties and cash. Magazines like Forbes publish lists of wealthiest people. The wealthy are …
Can you define “transgender”?[1] If you think you can, stop reading this. Take out your pen or voice note recorder. Record what you think transgender means. Then, continue reading. I’ll assume that you’ve heard the word transgender before, that you know it has something to do with sex, and that you’re aware there’s controversy over …
This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder Mark 9:30-37. The English Standard Version divides the passage into two portions. To the first, it supplies the heading, “Jesus Again Foretells Death, Resurrection’” and to the second, the heading, “Who Is the Greatest?” Mark places the narratives after his account of the transfiguration of Jesus on …
For the fifth and final week in a row, the lectionary invites us to ponder a passage from chapter 6 of the gospel of John. Today’s reading is John 6:56-69. The English Standard Version supplies it the title “The Words of Eternal Life.”[1] What do the words “eternal life” mean? For the majority of people, …
For the fourth week in a row, the lectionary invites us to remain within the portion of the gospel of John which the English Standard Version titles “I Am the Bread of Life.” Last week, we ended at verse 51. This week we’re invited to ponder John 6:51-58. In these verses, John tells us that …
This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder John 6:35, 41-51. These verses lie within a longer account in the same chapter. As I said last week, the English Standard Version titles the longer account “I Am the Bread of Life.”[1] Last week we saw that Jesus told a crowd to stop thinking of how …
This Sunday the lectionary invites us to read John 6:24-35. It’s a portion of a passage[1] to which the English Standard Version supplies the heading “I am the Bread of Life.” Last week, I considered the account of Jesus multiplying 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed about 20,000 people. I suggested that feeding might’ve …
This Sunday the lectionary invites us to ponder John 6:1-21. The English Standard Version supplies the passage with two headings. The first is “Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand.” The second is “Jesus Walks on Water.” I’ll discuss only the feeding of the 5,000. When we read the Bible, we must always bear in mind that …
Was feeding of the 5,000 Jesus’ most political act? Read More »
This Sunday, the lectionary invites us to ponder two sets of verses in Mark 6. The first set is verses 30-34. It’s part of a passage which the English Standard Version titles “Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand.” I title the set “Jesus and the sheep without a shepherd.”[1] I’ll only speak about this set. It’s …
