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Matthew 20:1-16
Proper 20A
Fred Craddock once observed that there are two kinds of sermons that are difficult to hear: bad sermons and good sermons. I think we know what he means on the latter. Because sometimes the good sermon is the one that gets under people’s skin and bothers them. Sometimes we preachers even want this, which is…
Matthew 18:21-35
Proper 19A
Matthew 18 reminds us of a core Christian conviction: Forgiveness is something we live, something we embody, every moment. But that only stands to reason. After all, the very foundation on which our identity as Christians is built is nothing less than the death and resurrection of Jesus and the flood of gracious forgiveness which…
Matthew 18:15-20
Proper 18A
In some segments of the Christian church, “Matthew 18” has become rather like “Miranda Rights.” As anyone who has ever watched police dramas on TV knows, when arresting a suspect for any reason, the arresting officer is supposed to “read him his rights,” which is a set series of statements that most of us have…
Matthew 16:21-28
Proper 17A
“In the cross of Christ I glory, towering o’er the wrecks of time.” That is a hymn lyric that many Christians know. But the notion of the cross towering over various temporal “wrecks” gained new poignancy when we saw on the news—and for those of us who went to Lower Manhattan in the months after…
Matthew 16:13-20
Proper 16A
Matthew 16:13a is not important, right? We can just skip to verse 13b, yes? We can just start with the question “Who do people say that I am?” That’s the core if it all here, right? Wrong! We cannot skip the geographical marker in this incident. If we do, we miss the key piece of…
Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28
Proper 15A
Years ago F. F. Bruce published a book titled The Hard Sayings of Jesus. That title prompted a friend of mine to comment, “Hard sayings? I didn’t know there were any easy ones!” But, of course, it is true that some of what Jesus had to say was easier to puzzle out than some other…
Matthew 14:22-33
Proper 14A
If You Want to Walk on Water, You’ve Got to Get Out of the Boat. That was the title some years back of a popular book written by John Ortberg. And the title reflects what is doubtless the most common “take” on this story. Over and again this well-known story comes to mean something like…
Matthew 14:13-21
Proper 13A
John the Baptist was the last great Old Testament prophet and the first great New Testament herald of the Gospel. He is a unique figure, a pivotal figure, a figure very nearly without parallel in the history of redemption. And yet he dies because of a stupid, senseless, lusty, and boozy blank check promise made…
Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52
Proper 12A
Probably most of us have benefitted from mnemonic devices at some point. We might remember the primary colors in the visible light spectrum by remembering the name Roy G. Biv (which in turns gives us Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, and Violet). A strange one used by my junior high science teacher has nevertheless…
Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Proper 11A
The “Parable of the Weeds” is part of a cluster of parables that has to do with God’s kingdom (and the Year A Lectionary is dealing with these various parables one at a time). It is also one of several that has to do with seeds and agriculture. Over and again Jesus’ point is that…
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