In the healing narrative recorded in Mark 1:40-45, a man with leprosy says to Jesus, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Jesus does so choose and makes him well. In one of the healing stories in the Gospel of John (5:2-9), Jesus initiates the conversation with a man who had been ill for thirty-eight years, asking him, “Do …
Presentation of Jesus
The scripture (Luke 2:22-40) this week is about expectation and fulfillment of ritual, not to mention prophecy, with multiple characters proclaiming great things about the child Jesus. Wow. This is serious theater, with amazing characters, one of whom hasn’t left the temple in years, and another that tells of a sword that will pierce the soul. Poor Mary and Joseph …
A Fishy Calling
When I first read the lectionary text for this week, I laughed a bit. Of course the story of Jesus calling Peter and Andrew to follow him and be “fishers of men” is a familiar part of my childhood faith tradition. When you attach a biblical story to a silly song with cheesy hand motions, it just seems to stick …
Dealing with Demons
Mark 1:21-28 (NRSV) 21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes. 23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to …
God and the False Self
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. 3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, …
New Beginnings
Mark 1:1-11 1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” 4 …
Advent Week 3
Stupid Joy Isaiah 61:1-2a, 10-11 John 1:6-8, 19-28 How does one begin to analyze joy? What is the deep biblical meaning of joy? The passage from Isaiah refers to God as the “joy in my soul”. John the Baptist is often associated with the joy of religious ecstasy. Honestly, the process of analyzing joy as a useful function tends to …
Advent Week 2
The Story that is Coming The Scripture this week, whether in Isaiah or Mark, Peter or the Psalms, tells us of what is to come. But it’s the advent season, it’s Christmas time, and we know what is coming. The baby Jesus is coming, the heralded birth of the Messiah. We know the story. Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem, …
Advent Week 1
Advent 2011: Hope The Text This Week: Mark 13:24-37 Excerpt, Inclusive Translation: (vs. 33-37) “Be constantly on the watch! Stay awake! You do not know when the appointed time will come. It is like an owner traveling abroad. They leave their home and put the workers in charge, each with a certain task, and those who watch at the front …
Day After the Day of the Dead
As those who have ever attended a birth or a death will tell you—all time is hallowed. I have left births I supported as a doula with my heart crying out— looking at folks passing in the street and thinking “how can the world keep on going?” “Don’t you know what has just happened?” “Don’t you see that the Mystery …