Within the Gospels, there is evidence that Jesus himself understood “the now and the not yet” of the new kind of existence God was bringing through him. That new kind of existence included self-giving, unconditional, indiscriminate love, liberating truth, deep compassion, lavish forgiveness, profound trust, and costly discipleship. Such a radical transformation takes time. Continue reading
Read the Scripture Our text for today is one of the most important passages in the New Testament. In a real sense, if we understand the Beatitudes, we will understand the message and ministry of Jesus as well as our own calling as his disciples. But we have several obstacles… Continue reading
The context Mark provides for Jesus’ teaching is a dispute over fasting. His critics ask why his disciples do not fast as John’s disciples do. Jesus responds that with him there is a new age–the age of the bridegroom–the Kingdom time of a perpetual wedding when the appropriate response is… Continue reading
In most churches, last Sunday was Epiphany Sunday. Matthew 2:1-12, the story of the magi, is the Gospel reading in the Lectionary for that Sunday and is understood as Matthew’s version of the birth of Jesus. In our minds as well as in Christmas pageants and Living Creche productions, we… Continue reading
I love my country, but I love people more. I love my country, but I love the world more. I love my country, but I love the God revealed in Jesus Christ more. I have never understood how those professing a faith in Jesus constrict their love to national borders… Continue reading
Jesus begins this parable with a statement of blessing– “A certain rich man’s lands brought forth bountiful crops.” The word used for “land” is not the usual term agros. No, the word used is chora a term which means extensive holdings, as much as a whole district or region. So,… Continue reading
At a dude ranch out West where city-slickers would come to play at being cowboys for a week at a time, the welcoming speech was always the same: “For you dudes who have never ridden a horse, we have some good news. We have some horses here that have never… Continue reading
I come from a tradition which has been suspicious of creeds. Baptists associate creeds with the Roman Catholic Church (and therefore reject the historic creeds), and one of the early slogans of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) was “no creed but Christ.” I find it ironic that conservative Christians… Continue reading
Scripture can be dangerously misleading if we are ignorant of its meaning and context. Few passages have suffered from such ignorance more than John 18:36. Part of this misunderstanding is based on an unhelpful translation in the Kings James Version which reads, “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this… Continue reading
New Testament scholars are virtually unanimous regarding the message of Jesus. They maintain that his message was the Kingdom of God. He believed that the story of Israel was coming to a climax in his ministry, person, and destiny. All of his teachings were about God’s Kingdom. He forgave sins,… Continue reading
