James 1:17-27; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Ordinary 22B; Proper 17 What matters in a life of faith? Which is more important: following prescribed rituals or practicing right conduct? What parts of our daily living set us apart and reveal our loyalties? These questions come up again and again in Scripture. Jesus says that not everyone who says “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom. What counts, Jesus says, is doing the will of God. The prophets are not silent on these matters, either. The prophets tell their hearers that God proclaims, “I hate and despise your feasts.” The people’s worship does not bring God joy because the very ones praising God are exploiting the widows and orphans. Jesus ends the debate about what is lawful on the Sabbath with the proclamation that the Sabbath was made for humanity not the other way around. Oh, and by the way, he says, “I desire mercy and not sacrifice.” What is critical to God if we are to be faithful disciples of Jesus Christ? If our diet … [Read more...]

Ephesians 6:10-20; John 6:56-69 Ordinary 21B; Proper 16 Jesus asks his followers two pointed questions: Does this offend you? And: Do you also wish to go away? He speaks plainly: I am the bread of life. Eat and live. I am the bread come down from heaven and this bread is my flesh. Believe, eat and receive the gift of eternal life. The Jews dispute Jesus’ claim and the disciples grumble about it. Jesus knows their hearts and doubts and then he says it plain: Does this offend you? Do you also wish to leave? Now is the time to turn around and head back to your former life. Many already decided that this Jesus way was not going to be their way, but what about the twelve? I am confused about the disciples’ grumbling. I do not understand, exactly, what is so difficult about this teaching. Isn’t eternal life good news? Isn’t bread from heaven a blessing? Isn’t the promise of never hungering nor thirsting again a teaching we want to embrace? What’s so difficult and hard to … [Read more...]

John 6:51-58 Ordinary 20B; Proper 15 We get more about bread this Sunday. John, chapter 6 is long —71 verses long. John 6 is not just long, it is dense, packed with powerhouse stories and sayings. Jesus feeds the 5,000. Jesus walks on water. Jesus says, “I am the bread of life” and repeatedly, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” Jesus talks of eternal life and in this Sunday’s appointed verses we are told to abide in Jesus. Next week we will finally hear from the disciples after hearing from the crowds and the Jews. So, what’s distinctive about John 6:51-58? Aren’t these verses simply a reiteration of what’s come before? More about Jesus being the bread from heaven, the living bread, the bread of life, not like the manna that didn’t prevent people from perishing, but something unique and available only in Jesus. More about Jews who are offended by Jesus and disputing his claims. More about Jesus’ relationship to the Father. More about eternal life. What’s new to … [Read more...]

Ephesians 4:25-5:2; John 6:35, 41-51 Ordinary 19B; Proper 14       Put away falsehood. Let your words give grace to those who hear. Put away bitterness and wrath, anger, slander, malice. Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as you have been forgiven. Live in love as Christ loved us. Reading these verses from Ephesians this week elicited two reactions. The first and most powerful one was a deep, grief-filled longing. The second was a question: Is such a community possible? All this kindness and speech that builds up and this putting away of anger sounds too utopian to be true. I am on social media, after all. Despite my pithy plastic keychain that reads, “Never read the comments,” I do, in fact, read the comments, all the comments. I read Yelp reviews and watch the news, too. In these spaces, wrangling and wrath prevails. Bigly. That’s why as I read this beautiful poetic parenetic text from Ephesians I was moved to tears. Be imitators of God. Yeah, right. Put away … [Read more...]

Ephesians 4:1-16; John 6:24-35 Ordinary 11B; Proper 13 Question-and-answer time with Jesus in John’s Gospel makes you want to go, “Wait, what?” I picture a member of the crowd raising her hand, being recognized by Jesus, earnestly posing what she believes to be a straightforward question and then scratching her head when Jesus’ answer appears unconnected to her query. Those eagerly following Jesus ask, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” Jesus, we would assume, should answer, “Last week.” Or “Last month.” Or even, “I have always been here.” But instead he goes on a tangent about their motives for following him, saying something about them looking for bread because they were fed with the 5,000, but really they should be looking for food that endures for eternal life. Wait, what? Someone else gets up their courage and asks, “What must we do to perform the works of God?” Not a softball like, “When did you come here?” But still, relatively easy for this rabbi, right? Shouldn’t … [Read more...]

2 Samuel 11:1-15; Ephesians 3:14-21; John 6:1-21 Ordinary 17B; Proper 12 We do not lack for material or choices this Sunday. The epistle this week gives us a prayer. Our Old Testament reading details King David’s abhorrent behavior with Bathsheba and Uriah. The Gospel lesson recounts John’s version of Jesus feeding the 5,000 and then walking on water. David’s actions toward Bathsheba take on a new relevance in the era of #MeToo, and Jesus’ compassion for the crowd and his subsequent instruction to the disciples to give them something to eat resonates when the headlines tell of refugees and migrants desperate for life’s basic necessities. It would be easy to turn these two stories into a compare-and-contrast: Be like Jesus, don’t be like David, or be more like Uriah and a lot less like David. But that reduces the Bible to a morality tale instead of the God’s inspired Word. Starting with the prayer from Ephesians helps mitigate the temptation to use these stories as a … [Read more...]