Genesis 21:8-21 Matthew 10:24-39 I am often surprised by how clearly the scriptures speak to our contemporary troubles. The texts we read each Sunday are thousands of years old, and yet sometimes the relevance of the words leap off the page. I think the author of the book of Ecclesiastes captures it for all time when he says there is nothing new under the sun, and there is a season for everything. Our hopes are the hopes of people always and everywhere. and the troubles we face are the same kinds of troubles people have always faced. The trouble in the text from Matthew’s gospel is this: Jesus knows that his followers will have plenty of conflict ahead. They will be persecuted and oppressed and misunderstood. The disciple is not above the teacher, he says. Could he be any clearer? Why should the disciples expect to have an easy stroll through […]
Continue reading
