He’s Not A Ghost The Disciples’ grief, doubt, & fear (3 for days them/3 weeks for us). Disciples must have felt like the Avengers after the infamous snap. Maybe they felt grief like those who love R.H.E. & her untimely death. Despair & fear can undermine even the greatest heroes among us. This Isn’t Gnosticism:…
How Far Is It To Emmaus? Bible study debated: 60 stadia, four score furlongs, 7 miles, 12 km … We don’t even really know where Emmaus is, or even who Cleopas is. Getting caught up on the details instead of the important message. They Missed The Message Cleopas describes Jesus as having been just a…
“At Notre Dame, Good Friday Came Early” read the Christianity Today headline on Tuesday. Good Friday, on Holy Monday, at one of the most well known Christian cathedrals in all of history. Good Friday, in the form of a destructive fire, that completely consumed the wooden roof, obliterating its historic gothic beauty. Good Friday grief,…
A. What kind of king rides into town on the colt of a donkey? 1. What’s all this ruckus about palm branches & cloaks? a. The history of welcoming kings & the Maccabean legacy of war 2. The kind of king that Israel expected … a. Political King – Saul, David,…
Our Story Takes A Detour/Retreat Detour from Luke This event not recorded in Luke Important in narrative journey Detour for rest/life on the journey The conflict has turned fatal Jesus pauses w/ family & friends Portrait of all too human Jesus Not a caricature of a Superman (right kids?) Jesus rests up for the final fight…
A Familiar Story! Is This Well-Known Parable Known Well? The danger of familiarity with the parable: well known =/= known well. Our narrative journey helps us place this parable in its proper context. The parable continues the message to the neo-pharisees from last week The Kingdom of Heaven Is Like a Prodigal Dad w/2 Lost Sons…
Do We Even Know How To Repent? Lent is a season of repentance – What does it mean to repent? But what are we repenting from? What if we have the wrong idea? Instead of repenting and turning to follow Jesus, we make more laws. Maybe We Should Repent Of Judging. We’re Bad Judges Anyway.…
Expanding Conflict En Route To Jerusalem What stand-up guys, those Pharisees, right? What’s their motivation? Now King Herod is against Jesus; so both religion & government. Jesus is misunderstood (John?) & is heading into threat of violence. Reminds Me Of St. Patrick & His Life Journey Too Similarly, so much about Patrick is misunderstanding and…
The Passage Not In The 3 Year Common Lectionary Our narrative journey through the Gospel of Luke toward Easter SPOILERS! Jesus not a fan of Religious Empire (maybe why we are too?) Dinner invitation under false pretense (Adm. Ackbar says, “It’s a trap!”) This hand-washing thing isn’t even in Levitical law. It’s about superiority. Taking…
Spotting the “You” and “Y’all” & Why It’s Important Contrasting Jesus; on the mountain & with the crowd Divine glorified powerful king messiah Human ordinary bound by boundaries teacher & healer Who is Jesus frustrated or exasperated with? Plural “you”/”y’all” … “perverse and faithless generation” Singular “you” … “bring your son here” Jesus taught his…