Exodus 32:1-14; Matthew 22:1-14 Ordinary 28A; Proper 23 The parabalous horriblus continue this Sunday. Matthew doesn’t shy away from violence, judgment or even retribution. The Jesus of Matthew’s Gospel is no gentle, bearded Savior with a lamb draped around his neck. Imagine, if you will, reading this parable as a bedtime story to your children or grandchildren. Snuggle down and let me read you a story from the Bible: God is like a king who invites people to a big party. (So far, so good.) But the people God invites don’t want to come. They are busy and have better things to do. (Bummer.) So, God invites them again because God really wants them at the celebration. (That’s nice.) This time the people on the guest list not only refuse to come, they beat up and kill the ones God sent to invite them. (That’s not nice at all.) Then God gets mad. (Who wouldn’t?) God goes ballistic and gets even, killing those who killed the ones who’d come with the invitation to the wedding … [Read more...]

Exodus 20:1-4, 7-9, 12-20; Matthew 21:33-46 Ordinary 27A; Proper 8 Jesus gets dystopian this Sunday. The world described in this parable is one of violence, premeditated murder and greed. No hint of a happy ending. Slaves have been beaten, abused, killed. The landowner’s son lies dead between the rows of grapevines. The foretold next chapter of the novel involves revenge and more violence. Jesus tells this cautionary tale without ambiguity or apology. Those who kill the landowner’s slaves and son will be obliterated and the land given to others. The ties of this text to the prophets are myriad. The land owner’s slaves, the prophets, were sent only to be stoned and killed. Jeremiah was flogged and put in stocks for his prophesy. The book of Nehemiah says at the people grew disobedient, rebelled against God, disregarded the law and killed God’s prophets. Over and over again, the people are given opportunity to give God what is God’s. Over and over again the people fail to … [Read more...]

Philippians 2:1-13; Matthew 21:23-32 Ordinary 26A; Proper 21 The sense of urgency is ramped up at this point in Matthew’s Gospel. Jesus is in Jerusalem. He has cleansed the Temple, the crowds are swelling and the religious authorities are growing ever more eager to silence this rogue prophet. The chief priests and the elders of the people who pose this trick question to Jesus are the very ones who, just a few chapters later, will condemn him to death. They will conspire to arrest him. They will enlist Judas to betray him. They will confer together to bring about his death. The stakes of this exchange could not be higher, nor could the outcome be more predictable. The chief priests and elders of the people do not come to Jesus out of a sense of holy curiosity. This is a setup, a trap that will be sprung when the moment is right and the crowd of Jesus’ supporters is not in such close proximity. They don’t care about the source of Jesus’ authority. They care only about … [Read more...]

Exodus 16:2-15; Matthew 20:1-16 Ordinary 25A; Proper 20 Are you envious because I am generous? That’s the final question of this parable about laborers and wages. Here is my final answer to that final question: Yes. Yes, I am. As my youngest likes to say, “If I am being honest … .” If I am being honest, I am envious because God is generous. Even though I have been given everything I have been promised, much of which I do not deserve, I am envious when I perceive that someone else is getting what could (should?) have been mine. What’s most dangerous in this scenario is how much I think should be mine. I easily justify what I deserve and just as readily calculate how undeserving others are. Too often I have read this parable and assumed that those who are still idle late in the day are idle by choice, not circumstance. Our individualistic, self-made man/woman culture tells that story often. There is work for those who want it. People need to try harder, apply themselves, … [Read more...]

Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35 Ordinary 24A; Proper 19 What is it about human beings that we like keeping score? We don’t just keep score in card games or sports, but in life. We never seem to outgrow our childish ways of judging – judging who got the bigger portion of dessert, or how many presents our siblings got at Christmas compared with our gift count, or even trying to figure out which among the kids is grandma’s favorite. We may change the categories we count and measure, but we still count and measure. Now we look to “likes,” “shares” and “followers.” We scrutinize peers’ posts to see who among us is aging well, doing well, living well, and in so doing we can discern where we fall on the spectrum of success and well-being. We can feel righteous and right in our political positions. We can assure ourselves that our children are all above average. We can tally up the aggregate score of our worldly worth and, depending on the day, judge that we are better than some, … [Read more...]

Exodus 12:1-14; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20 Ordinary 23A; Proper 18 Church Conflict Management 101 is the order of the day for this Sunday. I fear, however, in this very contentious and divided context, we need a remedial course first. We are infants in reconciliation, not yet ready for solid food. I read the comments (despite my keychain that advises me otherwise). I read almost every single one, but sometimes I have to stop, walk away and return to them when I am more grounded in the Spirit, lest I lose my religion. I often note that I am reading the comments on a Christian site, comments posted by fellow Christians and the level of vitriol and judgment is staggering. How is this so? We need some training in humility and in seeing our follow Christians’ (and others’) humanity. Perhaps we might tape Romans 13:10 to our computer or wrap it around our cell phones: “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is fulfilling the law.” But that may well be too … [Read more...]