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…
Can you ever really go home again? In this passage from Mark’s gospel, we are told about Jesus’ return to Nazareth, his hometown, and his teaching among the people with and around whom he had been raised. The big question: how would he be received? As it happens, not so well.
Why no! I never thought other than / That God is that great absence / In our lives, the empty silence / Within, the place where we go / Seeking, not in hope to
Arrive or find. He keeps the interstices / In our knowledge, the darkness / Between stars. His are the echoes / We follow, the footprints he has just / Left. We put our hands in…
His side hoping to find