Blog (Page 42)
Reproach removed
Sunday, March 31 Readings: JOS 5:9A, 10-12; 2 COR 5:17-21; LK 15:1-3, 11-32 Today’s readings remind me of what goes in to healing from difficult events. In the first reading from Joshua, the Israelites are finally “stable” and settled in their new land. God says, “Today, I have removed the reproach of Egypt from you.” I had to look up what it meant just to be sure… In the biblical sense, reproach refers to the shame and disgrace caused by…
We can be restored
Saturday, March 30 Readings: HOS 6:1-6; LK 18:9-14 Hosea continues the lamentation today for how the people have gone astray and yet trusts in God’s ability to restore us. It reminds me a bit of Step 2 from Alcoholics Anonymous where it is said that, “We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” During Lent, it is important to believe that we can be restored to sanity from all of our personal and…
The trees will teach us
Friday, March 29 Readings: HOS 14:2-10; MK 12:28-34 In the first reading from Hosea, we hear the counsel to return to God after having gone astray. I couldn’t help but notice the many references to plant life and trees in this one brief passage. Have a look for yourself: I will be like the dew for Israel: he shall blossom like the lily; He shall strike root like the Lebanon cedar, and put forth his shoots; His splendor shall be…
Our God is a subversive God
Thursday March 28 Readings: JER 7:23-28; LK 11:14-23 Did you ever try to give somebody some good advice and they just did not take it? You could see clearly what they needed, and yet they somehow could not. Maybe we’ve been in that situation ourselves where someone has offered us good counsel that we just could not receive. That’s what Jeremiah describes today. God laments that the people, “have not obeyed me nor paid heed; they have stiffened their necks…
I came not to abolish the law…
Wednesday March 27 Readings: DT 4:1, 5-9; MT 5:17-19 Moses is instructing the Israelites to heed the decrees and statues that God has given to them. He counsels them to “not to forget the things which your own eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your memory as long as you live.” This is the generation that witnessed the escape from Egypt, survived in the desert and received the commandments. And Jesus speaks to how he has come not…
That many times?
Tuesday, March 26 Readings: DN 3:25, 34-43; MT 18:21-35 We hear a beautiful line spoken in Daniel today, “And now we follow you with our whole heart.” This is likely an aspirational statement yet a great one for Lent where we strive every day to give more and more of ourselves to God. One way to bring our whole heart to God is elaborated in the gospel. Jesus is telling his disciples about forgiveness and of course they want to…
Annunciations
Monday March 25 Readings: IS 7:10-14; 8:10; HEB 10:4-10; LK 1:26-38 Today the church celebrates the feast of the Annunciation where Mary receives the invitation from the angel Gabriel to bear Jesus. And she accepts! I have always loved this “feast” because, for me, it celebrates all of the many ways – big and small – that we say, “Yes,” to God with no promise that anything is going to work out. I think it honors the risks we take,…
Remove your sandals
Sunday, March 24 Readings: EX 3:1-8A, 13-15; 1 COR 10:1-6, 10-12; LK 13:1-9 We have a powerful set of readings in front of us today In Exodus, Moses meets God through the burning bush. One of my favorite lines from this reading is, “Remove the sandals from your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.” In my mind, God could say that about EVERY place we find ourselves. This may be the ultimate call to an environmental…
What does healing require of us?
Saturday, March 23 Readings: MI 7:14-15, 18-20; LK 15:1-3, 11-32 If you had to pick one reading that summarized Jesus’ teachings, today’s gospel reading might be a great one to pick. It’s the story of the “prodigal son” and is one of his most famous stories. Because most of us have heard this story so often and we can’t help but read it from a North American context, it may be important to review some of the key elements of…
Parables as Subversive Speech
Friday March 22 Readings: GN 37:3-4, 12-13A, 17B-28A; MT 21:33-43, 45-46 In the first reading we hear the story of “Joseph the Dreamer” who out of jealousy for his giftedness is beaten and sold by his brothers to the Ishmaelites for 20 pieces of silver. Joseph then comes to play a very important role in their lives at a later point in their story. This idea of that which is rejected coming to play a crucial role at a later…
Exposing the suffering
Thursday, March 21 Readings: JER 17:5-10; LK 16:19-31 “More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it?” says the prophet Jeremiah. I certainly hope it’s not beyond remedy, but the story Jesus tells today suggests that we have a lot of work to do. Jesus tells the famous story of “The Rich Man and Lazarus” which is his tale about inequality and what happens when we have such wealth in the face of such…
Servant Leader
Wednesday, March 20 Readings: JER 18:18-20; MT 20:17-28 As we move deeper into Lent, the readings begin to give us glimpses of what is coming. Today we read of people plotting against the “faithful one” in both readings. In the gospel, Jesus pulls aside his close friends and tells them trouble is coming and that he’s going to have to suffer. Ironically, that’s when the mother of two of his disciples comes up and asks Jesus for special places for…