This is always a “tough night.” And no, I am not talking about the foot washing…the meal…the stripping…or the commandment. It is a tough “evening” because we know what is coming. We know what lies ahead. We know what later on tonight and tomorrow morning brings… For us – there is no escaping the reality […]
“Et tu Brute, then fall Caesar”. Perhaps the most famous words in “English literature” speak of a betrayal of a friend. Julius Caesar is saying that if even – his close friend Brutus is stabbing him – then he has no hope. Our friends are the ones that we expect will stand by us through […]
Contemporary Hebrew Theology says, get your theological ducks in a row before Easter! Somebody’s has to set the record straight and I guess that person would be me. The conflict in the Gospels was never between Jesus and the Jews – Hello! He was a Jew. The conflict is between Jesus and the “Judean (Temple) […]
The gospel text for tonight was “very famous” and quite popular in the early church, and we find “four different accounts” of this “same story” recorded in our four gospels. Each of the four versions of this story is “slightly different,” but we can learn something from each of the four versions. It is difficult […]
Extravagance – – – sometimes – (today) – is held – suspect. What do they really want? Why are they being so nice? What are they doing this for? What is the real reason behind it? What are their underlying motives? What do they seek? I know they want something… Don’t you think it is […]
When it comes to the eldest son – (and you may not like this…) He is a caricature of all that is “joyless,” “petty,” and “self-serving” about “us.” There is probably a little of that “older brother” in each one of us…although we do not like to hear that! Ah, the older son…it is not […]
Here’s what we know in the way of background information: Pontius Pilate was the Governor of Judea and Jerusalem for ten years. Remember, Jesus was a Galilean, he was not a Judean, and definitely not from Jerusalem. Pontius Pilate ruled and reigned from the years 26-36 in the Common Era. History records that there were […]
I have some “sobering and staggering statistical thoughts” for you to consider. Think for a moment about the people living right now, today, in places like Iraq, Syria, Nigeria, Somalia, Sudan and Afghanistan. Picture the lives of “innocent little children.” These places have been “wracked with violence” for years, in some places for decades…and decades. […]
Jesus and the Pharisees, that alone should give us pause. Politics sometimes can make for strange bedfellows. This was a case in point. The Pharisees did not like Herod, Herod did not like Jesus, so therefore…the enemy of my enemy must be a friend! But, chickens and foxes…hmmm…hardly bedfellows. I would put my money on […]
It was just this week that the 7th graders were reading about Moshe at the foot of Mt. Sinai. According to the Book of Exodus – “all the people” responded – we will do – whatever the Lord asks. We will do it! Then of course, as we are want to do… We go about […]