Today’s scripture readings include one of the most familiar and best-loved passages from the New Testament, 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. Here Paul focuses on the gift of love, its essential role in our lives, and how it supersedes every other admirable quality we might possess, including…
Paul tells us in I Corinthians that we are “the body of Christ and individually members of it.” God has appointed us different roles: apostles, prophets, teachers, forms of leadership, and others. I contemplate this as we move through 2012. We will be saying goodbye…
In today’s passage from Mark, we read how Peter first identifies Jesus as the Messiah, and then, a moment later, rebukes Jesus for talking about the rejection, death, and resurrection he would have to undergo. It takes chutzpah to rebuke the Messiah, but it’s not hard to understand why Peter was so upset. He was thinking in rational, human terms…
I don’t know if people rolled their eyes in ancient Palestine, but you can almost see Jesus rolling his as he “sighed deeply in his spirit” when the Pharisees, the House Republicans of their day, demand a sign from heaven to test him…
Many of you know that I grew up in rural Iowa. My experiences there were so different than my life now. Of course I’m older, but living in an agricultural environment is very different than living in the fast paced urban environment that I live in now. Here there are several restaurants on every block, access to mass transit that will take you anywhere in the city, and access to every national chain you can think of.
Sons are blessed out of order? Why has God forsaken David? If the blessings from God are only for the Jews, why did Jesus heal the Gentile’s daughter? It has taken me a lifetime to (grudgingly) accept that everything in God’s world is not necessarily going to be ordered to my liking, or in a way that I deem appropriate. Which is a very good thing for humanity, actually. If it had, the many blessings I have received would not …
In reading the scriptural passages for today, I’m reminded of a Hebrew word: KAVANAH. It means intention or direction of the heart when one is engaged in prayer or sacred ritual. I think Jesus and Paul are admonishing their respective audiences to be mindful of Kavanah. Jesus seems impatient with the Pharisees for holding fast to the traditions of the elders because in doing so they “leave the commandment of God.” What is the direction…
In this passage from Mark, I am reminded of two very important convictions for which we, as Christians, should all be equipped: faith and responsibility. With the birth of my daughter this past summer, I suddenly felt the weight of being responsible for another human being. Yes, as a daughter, wife, stepmother, granddaughter, friend, and colleague, I have felt the keen sense of duty, loyalty, commitment, and obligation, but as a mother…
When…? Why….? “Where is your God?” Answer: Hope. Is it just that simple? It can’t be, can it? I want to flip the pages of my Bible to see if there’s more to it. Annoyingly simple answers do not always sit well with me. When I was little…
The death of John the Baptist has to be one of the most gruesome subjects in the Bible. It’s notable for its particularly garish, nightmarish depiction of the young woman dancing to please her mother, the manipulated request of the queen, and the cowardice of the king. Noteworthy, especially, is Herod’s motive: He’s sworn an oath…