Malachi 3:1-4; Luke 3:1-6 Advent 2C The timing for John the Baptist to emerge from the wilderness came in the 15th year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod ruling Galilee. Annas and Caiaphas served as high priests. Luke details the rulers, secular and religious, placing John and his call to prepare the way for the Lord squarely in the middle of worldly events and places, reminding us that God sends messengers smack dab in the center of our earthly activities, too. Preparation for the coming of Jesus happened not only when Tiberius was emperor but also now, in the second year of the presidency of Donald Trump when Nancy Pelosi vies to be Speaker of the House and Pope Francis occupies the Vatican. No time is God forsaken, all time subject to God’s inbreaking. Are we getting ready? The second Sunday of Advent asks us to anticipate the drawing close of the holy in our midst. The texts for this week invite us to listen to the voices of … [Read more...]

Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; Luke 21:25-36 Advent 1C The days are surely coming when struggling with texts about the heavens and earth shaking, the sun going dark and stars losing their light cannot be avoided. Even as the Christmas lights go up in stores and on homes, we who worship Jesus must talk about the foreboding darkness found in apocalyptic texts appointed for Advent. People will faint from fear, Luke tells us. What, really, is the point of this genre of biblical literature? What should these texts describing the end of all things evoke in people of faith? Should we faint with fear or raise our heads awaiting the redemption that is near? Luke’s Gospel (along with the others) instructs us to be awake, be alert, be on guard. Our stance not one of fear, but attentive watchfulness, heightened awareness, prepared readiness to see and meet the Lord. A cursory read of Jeremiah and 1 Thessalonians and Luke for this first Sunday of Advent left me … [Read more...]

2 Samuel 23:1-7; Revelation 1:4b-8; John 18:33-37 The language of “king” perplexes and confounds. For some, it creates a stumbling block to seeing God. Male. Dominating. Subjugating. Hierarchical. These are adjectives akin to anathema in our postmodern, #MeToo, pluralistic culture, right? Hard as I try, that scene from “Monty Python and the Holy Grail” keeps playing in my head: “I am your king.” “Well, I didn’t vote for you.” “You don’t vote for kings.” We, too, question kingship: Who made you king? Who gives you authority? How will that authority be enforced? Over what do you have authority, anyway? I didn’t vote for you. Given our tendency to chafe at such regal expressions of power, what do we do with Christ the King Sunday? How do we wrestle with such authority in our cultural season of anti-institutionalism and conspiracy theories? How do we talk about obedience, or fear of the Lord, or reign of God, or the King of kings? The three texts appointed for this … [Read more...]

1 Samuel 1:4-20; Hebrews 10:11-14 (15-18) 19-25; Mark 13:1-8 Ordinary 33B Proper 28 Occasionally, when the Outlook staff emails one another we begin with “Today’s sign of the End Times,” and follow it with an unexpected and strange request, response or article. This churchy humor helps us weather the ups and downs of being on the receiving end of many public comments and frequent scrutiny, some of it kind, some of it not so kind, some of it down right odd. But when I come to chapter 13 of Mark’s Gospel, I realize that our “signs of the End Times” are not Jesus’ signs of the End Times. Jesus’ signs do not call forth eye rolls, laughter, a chuckle or stress relief. Jesus’ talk of the End Times arrests us and causes us to question expectations and events roiling all around us. Jesus tells his disciples who marvel at the beautiful, imposing Temple (that same Temple and scribal system he has been railing against) that even an institution and edifice that big and that … [Read more...]

Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17; Mark 12:38-44 Ordinary 32B Proper 27 What obligation do we have to those in our society who cannot provide for themselves? What responsibility do those who follow the Triune God have for people systemically oppressed, marginalized and vulnerable? The texts appointed for this week will not let us dodge these basic questions of what it means to be faithful to the God who came to bring good news to the poor and let the oppressed go free. While our country roils with conflict, division, violence, vitriolic rhetoric and deadly acts, the Bible holds us accountable to how we treat the disinherited. Jesus takes sides and tells us with whom we are to stand if we want to be with him. The Scriptures require us to examine our hearts, actions and witness in the face of our current context and every shocking headline. Beginning with how we treat the least of these, the systemically oppressed and the situationally vulnerable, no matter who they are. How do we treat … [Read more...]

Hebrews 9:11-14; Mark 12:28-34 Ordinary 31B Proper 26 At first reading of the Gospel text this week, I marveled at the audacity of the scribe in Mark’s version of this story. The scribe says to Jesus, “You are right, teacher.” The scribe feels he has the authority to affirm Jesus’ response. The scribe grades Jesus, the teacher. I marveled too at Jesus’ response to the scribe’s presumptuous confirmation of his answer. Jesus tells this scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” Jesus does not say, “Of course I am right!” or “Who do you think you are assessing my answer?” Jesus sees that this scribe understands the bottom-line bulwark of the faith: love God and neighbor. And therefore Jesus says, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” This affirmation of the scribe is particularly striking as it is the only time in Mark’s Gospel where a scribe gets a shoutout from Jesus. This exchange is no pleasant, churchy small talk. This back-and-forth between Jesus and … [Read more...]