James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38 I used to have a friend, Jim. He was a kind and big-hearted man with a great sense of humor, but he also knew how to lay down the law. He liked to say, “I prefer peace over justice any day of the week.” Particularly in reference to his three children when they were bickering about something. Jim was going to get his peace, which for him meant quiet, if those kids knew what was good for them. We began our study group last Wednesday, talking about Five Risks Presbyterians Must Take for Peace. I asked the group what they thought of when they hear someone say they just want to keep the peace. And they said it means they just want people to be quiet. This is also what the phrase, “Hold your peace” means: Just don’t say anything. The letter of James has a lot […]
Continue readingMonth: September 2024
A Season of Peace, Week 1: All Who Stand in Need
Mark 7:24-37 We depend to a great extent on the work of biblical historians to help us understand the scriptures better – to get a sense of the context, the best interpretation of language, and the authenticity of the many ancient manuscripts that are available. And I learned something this week that I have to share with you, something that these historians use in their work: the criterion of embarrassment. The criterion of embarrassment says this: if a story in the bible is something that is, potentially, kind of embarrassing, then it’s probably true. Some of the stories in the Bible might not have happened quite the way they are written. But if they are embarrassing, then they probably did happen like that. Because why would they make up something that might make Jesus, his followers, or the church, look foolish? By that standard, I think the story of Jesus […]
Continue readingFaith Rules
James 1:17-27 Mark 7:1-8,14-15,21-23 There was a movie that came out in 1998 called Pleasantville. It was a funny story about time travel. But it’s also about how we decide what is wrong and what is right. There are two teenagers, David and Jennifer, who are siblings. We see in the first few minutes of the film that their lives are fairly unpleasant. They’re coping with some of the complications that might confront middle class kids: social status, drugs and alcohol, parents who have their own troubles and are mostly unavailable to their kids. Jennifer, who is played by Reese Witherspoon, is navigating these issues with some success, but David, who is played by Tobey Maguire, seems mildly depressed and spends most of his time watching reruns of an old 1950’s sitcom, Pleasantville. It’s a “Leave It to Beaver” kind of program. Way out of date, but there is something […]
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