Isaiah 55:1-9 ; Luke 13:1-9 I think that our problem, sometimes, is our wanting to find easy answers to our hard questions. We don’t care much for ambiguity, and neither did Jesus’ early followers. So when the news came to them about a disaster that befell some Galileans, they looked for answers in the wrong places. In September 2001, Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell sat in front of a TV camera, musing together about why they thought the towers fell and nearly 3,000 people died. They seemed to like the theory that it was the feminists, pagans, and civil libertarians – in other words, people not like them – who were at fault, because they made God mad at America. The temptation of being able to say those people had it coming is a strong one. Pat Robertson and Jerry Falwell didn’t invent this; it’s an old, old way of thinking. […]
Continue readingMonth: March 2019
Chicks Like Us
Luke 13:31-35 Considering these last few verses of Luke’s 13thchapter, I think it’s worthwhile looking back at the chapter as a whole. Not because these verses are connected. But because the whole chapter feels weirdly disconnected. It reminds me of that picture book, If You Give a Mouse A Cookie. You know how it goes? If you give a mouse a cookie, he will probably ask for some milk to go with it. And when he finishes, he will look at himself in the mirror to see if he has a milk mustache, and when he looks in the mirror he will notice that he needs a haircut, so he will ask you for a nail scissors, and on it goes. Jesus is acting kind of like that mouse in this chapter. He’s just jumping from one thing to another thing to another thing – and there’s no apparent connection between […]
Continue readingWhen You’re in the Wilderness
Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Luke 4:1-13 In the early 1990’s a young man named Chris McCandless left his home and family and friends to travel the United States. He shed himself of all his money and most of his material possessions. He lost his car. He eventually found his way to the wilderness of Alaska. He lived there for a few months alone in an abandoned bus. He died there after apparently eating toxic plants. Chris McCandless set off with dreams of discovery in the wild. But he discovered the wilderness is harsh. A few years later, a woman named Cheryl Strayed set off on a journey of self-discovery along the Pacific Crest Trail. She traveled alone, carrying only what she could fit in her backpack. She fared better than Chris did. She actually made out pretty well – aside from one or two encounters with unsavory characters, and a brush with […]
Continue readingOne Thing
Exodus 34:29-35 ; 2 Corinthians 3:12-4:2 We sometimes talk about “church business.” Which you might think is an oxymoron. I once heard a Presbyterian pastor describe the way we handle our business in church. This pastor said, “This is how we do church meetings. We sit down at the meeting table and we say, ‘Good Evening, God. Welcome to our business meeting. We are so glad to have you here. Would you be so kind as to bless this gathering?’ There is an opening prayer…perhaps a brief devotion on a passage of scripture…then everyone says, ‘Amen.’ Then we say, ‘God, thank you so much for your assistance. I am afraid we have to ask you to leave now because we have some important business to attend to, business that, frankly, we don’t think you would be interested in and most likely you don’t have anything to offer in this regard. So thanks again, and let me show you the door. Oh, […]
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