The following is a reflection on the First Sunday of Advent, Year C. The Day of the Lord. The end. The Second Coming. The Parousia. In our day such things are wholly owned subsidiaries of Hollywood and people so far off their rockers that they are the very definition of “laughingstock.”
A reflection on Christ the King Sunday, especially for year B of the Revised Common Lectionary. Pope Pius XI inaugurated Christ the King Sunday in 1925, when the authority of the church was evidently waning in the world. Of course nearly ninety years later, the “authority” of the church—or even just the “place” of the church—in the world is almost laughable. We are all but irrelevant in the power structures of the community of nations. […]
The following is a reflection on John 6:56-69, the Gospel lesson appointed for Proper 16B, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. This post is from the tenth chapter of my book, “Going to Hell, Getting Saved.” Jesus told the people that his flesh was real food and that his blood was true drink—and to eat his flesh and drink his blood meant eternal life. And people stopped following him. The disciples grumbled about how hard […]
The following is a reflection on John 6:51-58, the Gospel Lesson appointed for Proper 15B, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. John’s Jesus uses incredibly incendiary language in chapter 6. So incendiary, in fact, that some people stopped following him because of it.
The following is a reflection on John 6:35, 41-51, the Gospel lesson for Proper 14B, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. There was one brief, shining moment in the Hebrew Bible where things were pretty good. We had safety, and security, we had the Presence of God walking among us. We had a nice garden. And then we blew it. We had only been given one “thou shalt not,” and we couldn’t manage the “not” […]
The following is a reflection on John 6:24-35, the Gospel lesson appointed for Proper 13B, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. So…I think to fully understand the “I am the bread of life” text, we need to go back a few chapters in John. In chapter four, Jesus is talking to the woman at the well. Jesus offers her water, she marvels at his lack of a bucket with which to draw water, and he […]
The following is a reflection on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56, the Gospel lesson properly appointed for Proper 11 year B. After an insanely busy and draining period of teaching, and exorcising, and healing—after Jesus and his disciples had given of themselves over and over again, day after day—Jesus tells his disciples, “come away to a deserted place all by yourselves and rest a while.” There are four different parts to this statement which mean something on […]
The following is a reflection on Mark 6:14-29, the Gospel lesson appointed for proper 10B, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. On its face, this is a strange lesson. Jesus is mentioned, but never says a word. People are coming up with all kinds of theories for how Jesus is able to do the things he does, and Herod kills John for the oddest of reasons. The question that rises to the top for me […]
The following is a reflection on Mark 5:21-43, the Gospel lesson appointed for Proper 8B, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. Last year I wrote a book, going to hell, getting saved, and what Jesus actually says, and this post is an excerpt from pages 164-169. In Mark 5:22-43, there are two different stories of healing woven together into a single story. While Jesus is on his way to heal and restore life to Jairus’ […]
The following is a reflection on Mark 4:35-41, the Gospel Lesson for Proper 7B, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? Have you ever felt like this? Have you ever felt like you were sinking in a raging sea, and no matter how hard you prayed, and how intently you looked for Jesus, Jesus just didn’t seem to be listening? Did you ever feel like you would […]