Content related to Matthew

Symposium 2022: Blessed Are Those Who Are Persecuted

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Symposium 2022: Blessed Are You When People Insult You

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Symposium 2022: You Are the Salt of the Earth and the Light of the World

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Matthew 25:31-46

Proper 29A

Why don’t we pay more attention to life as we live it?  Why do we miss so much?  In Matthew 25 both groups, sheep and goats alike, say they didn’t realize that the poor of the world represented Jesus. Both missed that connection. Ever noticed that before?  The righteous are not commended for spying Jesus…

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Matthew 25:14-30

Proper 28A

“Well done, good and faithful servant.”  How often haven’t we heard—or even spoken—these words at the funeral of some beloved member of the church?  How often haven’t we seen these words etched onto tombstones in a cemetery or printed on the cover of the memorial folder for a funeral?  This is what every believer hopes…

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Matthew 25:1-13

Proper 27A

When I used to meet with an engaged couple prior to their wedding, and certainly at some point during the wedding rehearsal the evening before the big day, I always made a point to tell people, “Now don’t forget to enjoy yourselves!  It goes fast so have fun!”  Typically I remind them just to relax…

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Matthew 23:1-12

Proper 26A

Matthew 23 indicates that pastors (i.e., most of us reading this sermon commentary) need to be wary of the titles people afford us.  Although neither “Reverend” nor “Pastor” is specifically mentioned in Matthew 23, only a very wily preacher would ever suggest this indicates that those titles are exempt from Jesus’ comments.  So what are…

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Matthew 22:34-46

Proper 25A

Back to the beginning. That might be a good way to understand this passage in Matthew 22.  Because in a couple of ways, these verses hark back to how Matthew began Jesus’ story in this Gospel. First there is the genealogy in Matthew 1.  In that “family tree” of Jesus Matthew inserts something into the…

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Matthew 22:15-22

Proper 24A

In recent years there has been a lot of talk about religion in America.  This election year of 2020 is no exception—indeed, the upcoming election magnifies such things.  Maybe other nations have similar conversations but America is definitely the epicenter of some pretty serious conversations in this area.  This is due in part to the…

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Matthew 22:1-14

Proper 23A

In a seminar on Matthew’s gospel, Tom Long pointed out that in Matthew, it’s never a good thing to be addressed as “friend.”  Every time someone is called a friend in Matthew, what follows is not pleasant!  Jesus himself was referred to as a “friend” by the religious authorities in Matthew 11 but it was…

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