02082023 – Matthew 5. 13-20 The church has its CRITICS. It has ALWAYS had its critics. Their voices are MANY. But then, you already know that! But maybe MORE THAN WE REALIZE. Many have been HURT by the church. And continue TO BE hurt by it. APOLOGIES are few and far in between. Israel had […]
02082023A – Matthew 5. 13-20 I am not sure how old I was…But somewhere along the road of my education… Someone told me to always see myself SOMEWHERE in the gospel text. Look for yourself. Sure enough, you will always be there…maybe in the background, but trust me, you will always be there, and if […]
02042023 – Matthew 5. 13-20 I took the gospel seriously. I spoke on SALT and LIGHT. It was ok. Nothing earth-shattering. Maybe not even interesting to some. And then, I decided I am “over that.” Probe deeper. Take another look. And even as I looked, something else appeared and jumped off the page. I was […]
02012023 – Matthew 5. 1-12 Some of you may remember an American preacher by the name of Robert Schuller. I never much cared for his “SHOW.” It was way too THEATRICAL, for my personal taste. The best VOICES. The best MUSIC. The best “STAGE-SETS.” It really was a “PUT-ON” SHOW, constantly begging for MONEY…with just […]
01282023 – Matthew 5. 1-12 Jesus was a “subversive sage,” using “existing wisdom genres” to present “a subversive version” of blessedness. Let me break that down. Jesus was respected, revered, and honored in his own right, as a great and mighty teacher. We are told frequently, how he did not teach, like the teachers of […]
01252023 – Matthew 4. 12-23 You’d never know by looking at him. He’s a good man, he really truly is. But he can “RUN” with the best of them. He always has. He’s a runner. Not a couch potato. Not a fighter. Running with his NETS, running with his BOYS, running with his FISH. Put […]
01212023 – Matthew 4. 12-23 In a time when no one ever moved, no one ever changed homes, or legal residences, Jesus is now at home number four. Peculiar! It was unbelievable and pretty remarkable. Strange. Odd. Especially for that day and time. You are given the sense of “wandering” of not being established. Which […]
01182023 – Matthew 6. 25-34 I grew up in a different era, one of long ago. Not everybody got picked. Not everyone was a star. Not everyone could throw like Paul Hornung…the “Golden Boy.” Not everyone could be first in the class. Not everybody received a trophy. Sometimes you struck out. You did stuff for […]
01112023 – Matthew 3. 13-17 The four Evangelists’ accounts of the Baptism of Jesus are found in Matthew 3:13-17, Mark 1:9-11, Luke 3:21-22, and John 1:32-34, and each of “their stories” go “pretty much” like the passage according to Matthew. Well, kind of… It is important to note that all four gospels share their own […]
01062021 – The Epiphany of Our Lord It was purely out of a sense of curiosity that I wondered about the word, “xenophobia.” Here is what I found: “Xenophobia” (from Ancient Greek meaning “stranger” or “foreigner”, and “fear”) is the fear or hatred of that which is perceived to be “foreign or strange.” It is an […]