I always hope to preach on the themes of the Gospel that we are in and I still hope to do that this week. However, Year A will jump into the Gospel of John for the last 4 Sundays in Lent and make thematic preaching a little harder. So, using this Matthean text to set up the season of Lent could be very helpful. Also, it is a good chance to dispel some of the modern myths and bad theology of Lent and return to some of the spiritual practices that are intended to bring us closer to God.
Confusion can be a Gift from God
What the 12-step program tells us, what our readings today tell us, what the season of Advent reminds us, is that the world is always going to try and speed us up and move us toward rapid action. But when that happens, when things are getting chaotic and confusing, we are reminded time and time again to take it one day at a time.
#RecoverLent – Listening – “Is there any other way that I have harmed you…?”
Is there any way that I have harmed you that I am unaware of?
The Church is not a Sanctuary for an Alcoholic
Even if an alcoholic in recovery is completely transparent about their recovery, no setting can be described as safe. And I know this because I feel that my recovery has been threatened in the church.
Faking Demonic Possession is Like a Mustard Seed (Commentary on Matthew 13: 31-33, 44-52)
Although it is very sacrilegious and there’s quite a bit of profanity, one of my favorite books is Lamb: The Gospel According to Biff, Christ’s Childhood Pal by Christopher Moore. As you can gather from the title, it is a fictional account of Jesus’ life told from the perspective of Jesus’ best friend, Biff. It... Continue Reading →
Perfection (Commentary on Matthew 5:43-48)
“We will be perfect in every aspect of the game. You drop a pass, you run a mile. You miss a blocking assignment, you run a mile. You fumble the football, and I will break my foot off in your John Brown hind parts and then you will run a mile. Perfection. Let's go to... Continue Reading →