Mark 8:27-38 Who do people say that Jesus is? A savior, a prophet, a healer, a friend, a sacrificial lamb, a judge, a Messiah, a wisdom teacher, a radical, a revolutionary, a Palestinian Jew, the Son of God, just a really good dude with some good ideas—the list goes on. I’ve even heard questionably earnestContinue reading “Who will save us?”
Category Archives: ordinary time
Being Human, and Being Better at it
Mark 7:24-37 The reality of the incarnation is one of the greatest scandals of history. Not the fact that God came to earth, plenty of deities have done that in mythology from all over the world. Not the fact that a human woman gave birth to a somehow more-than-human child, since of course the mythsContinue reading “Being Human, and Being Better at it”
What Comes Out
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Amid a spike in Covid and other illnesses as end-of-summer travel bugs collide with back-to-school germs, its hard not to be on the side of the Pharisees when they ask why Jesus’s disciples are eating with unwashed hands. So I want to be very clear- Jesus is not condemning hand hygiene.Continue reading “What Comes Out”
Enough
John 6:1-21 I have lost count of the times I have heard someone ask “Will there be enough?” in the hours before a church event. As bodies flow into a potluck and the dishes on the table don’t seem to keep pace, we bite our nails and check the freezer for a backup plan. AsContinue reading “Enough”
Choosing Rest
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 This week, I had the privilege of joining our friends at Trinity Lynchburg, Grace Memorial Lynchburg, and Peakland Baptist as they hosted Compassion Camp. It might have looked to us like a VBS, but the Trinity children’s minister reminded us often that this is not vacation Bible school, because most children doContinue reading “Choosing Rest”
The Dance of Power
Mark 6:14-29 & 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 The story of the death of John the Baptist is a gruesome and theatrical one, a strange blip in the middle of a record of Jesus’s public ministry. Other than Mark’s brief introduction to the tale, which is really just a short list of rumors being spread aboutContinue reading “The Dance of Power”
Partners in Ministry
Mark 6:1-13 Having just returned from a visit to my hometown, where I spent time among my own kin and in my family homes, I feel a particular closeness with Jesus in this passage. Ben and I went to Louisville to work, to represent our parishes and our diocese in a meeting of over aContinue reading “Partners in Ministry”
Naming the Hurt
Mark 5:21-43 For the past ten days, as many of you know, I have been in my hometown of Louisville Kentucky for the 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church. It was a marathon of worship, parliamentary procedure, networking, reconnecting with old friends and mentors, and learning. I look forward to talking with you moreContinue reading “Naming the Hurt”
A Gardener’s Faith
Mark 4:26-34 This past Friday, I got a text from Ben about my garden. He had seen our neighbor groundhog investigating my herb garden. It’s honestly amazing that we haven’t seen him in there sooner, because he’s made himself two different entrances into our yard under our fence, both of which are protected from ourContinue reading “A Gardener’s Faith”
A New Kind of Family
Mark 3:20-35 Every time I have explored this Gospel passage in a Bible study with others, someone has made the honest observation that we don’t much like this part. Jesus seems angry, and impatient, and he is apparently very willing to abandon and disown his mother and siblings. He gives his detractors mysterious and complicatedContinue reading “A New Kind of Family”
Mother A Writes 