We come to one of the strangest passages in the entire Bible. Every commentator has struggled with what this passage meant for Israel and, even more so, for our day. Genesis 6:1-4 has no connection with any of the preceding stories or materials. If we take this story as a… Continue reading
The famous pulpiteer George Buttrick in commenting on this passage asked the following rhetorical question: “How does a crowd affect us?” A crowd might evoke fear, excitement, disgust, weariness, or indifference. But I would suggest that rarely does a crowd evoke compassion. Yet in our passage Jesus looked out over… Continue reading
I love chocolate cake with thick milk chocolate icing. I love my wife, daughter, son-in-law, and grandsons. I love movies and certain types of music. I love the magnificent beauty and grandeur of nature. I love a good novel. I love my friends. I love God. I love Bluebell Banana… Continue reading
Are you a doer or a be-er? Without doubt you are both, but usually one or the other dominates in a person. Doers get things done. If we want something done, we call on doers. As a pastor I learned quickly that fellowship meals, decorating the church, budget programs, building… Continue reading
“Babette’s Feast” is a charming movie based on Isak Denisson’s (penname for Karen Blix) story with the name title. The film is about a French woman named Babette who became the cook for two elderly sisters on the coast of Denmark. Babette was a refugee from France during a political… Continue reading
I have always had sympathy for Thomas, perhaps because there is a doubting, skeptical side to me. There are those who confuse faith with gullibility. We Thomases of this world will not likely make that error. We err on the other side. We want to see, know, and feel the… Continue reading
[Today is Palm Sunday. This is also Passion Sunday–a time for the church to consider the Gospel accounts of the death of Jesus. From the hoopla of Palm Sunday to the pomp of Easter, it is possible for Christians to go from one celebration to another without ever confronting the… Continue reading
Whatever else we may say about our Christian faith, I think most of us would agree that at the very least, Jesus reveals the nature of God. When we see Jesus, we see and understand what God is like, who God is, and how God feels toward us. That’s what… Continue reading
The popular psychologist Jesse Lair wrote a book years ago entitled I Ain’t Well, But I Sure Am Better. In many ways, these words could be the testimony of my life. I’ve got a long way to go, but I’ve come a long way, too. Just ask my wife. To… Continue reading
(Based on the writings of Debbie Blue and Rene Girard) The concept of scapegoat goes back to Leviticus 16 in the Hebrew Scriptures. Originally it referred to the goat upon which Aaron, the priest and brother of Moses, symbolically placed the sins of the people of Israel on the Day… Continue reading
