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Ephesians 1:15-23
Proper 29A
I am physically near-sighted. But I grew up in an era before schools did systematic vision-testing. So neither my parents nor I knew that I was near-sighted until we went to a Detroit Tigers baseball game when I was in the sixth grade. When I told my mom and dad that I couldn’t read its…
Matthew 25:31-46
Proper 29A
These last few weeks of passages have reminded us that asking, “What must I do to be saved?” (Acts 16.30) is not the only question that matters. Growing in our understanding of how belief and faith is translated into daily living is just as important. And the question, “What happens when Jesus returns?” is just…
Matthew 25:14-30
Proper 28A
We pick up right where we left off last week, listening to Jesus teach his followers some important truths about how they are to live in light of what he will do in the future. This parable deals with the same question of how people ought to actively wait for the coming of the Lord,…
1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Proper 28A
In the northern hemisphere the days are becoming noticeably shorter. If the Lord tarries, where I live, for example, there will be nearly 13 minutes less daylight on this coming Sunday than there were just last Sunday. That contributes to the sense that this is a dark time of the year. That darkness, however, helps…
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Proper 27A
No matter how strong Jesus’ friends’ faith is, the death of someone we love can be immensely difficult. Among other things, it sometimes forces survivors to make painful adjustments that may take many months, if not years. Death, however, also raises troubling questions about the fate of those who have died. Such questions seemed to…
Matthew 25:1-13
Proper 27A
This parable is part of a series that looks at what’s to come when the King of Kings returns. Even though they are about the future, the point that each of the parables is focused squarely upon is the present lives of disciples—no matter when they find themselves living. As we close out Ordinary time,…
Matthew 23:1-12
Proper 26A
We might be tempted to view this text primarily as a stinging indictment of religious leadership. Though it is as much, it is also contrasting pictures of discipling communities. One builds up brothers and sisters (or students), whereas the other leaves them weighed down and stuck. One surrounds its members with a community of support,…
1 Thessalonians 2:9-13
Proper 26A
What we call “post-modernism” heavily influences 21st century Western culture. One characteristic of that worldview is a kind of moral relativism. In other words, the idea that most ideas are equally valuable profoundly shapes our culture. No “word” carries any more moral authority than another. In a post-modern culture that offers a buffet of religious…
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Proper 25A
Though the sheer volume of sermons on them seem to belie the claim, preaching on the epistles can and perhaps even should be rather challenging. Reading Epistolary Lessons is, after all, as one colleague has pointed out, a bit like reading someone else’s mail. Preaching on this Sunday’s particular Epistolary Lesson is perhaps even more…
Matthew 22:34-46
Proper 25A
Comments, Questions, and Observations We are still in the temple, still dealing with the temple leaders engaging Jesus in the hopes of trapping or discrediting him. Last week we read about the Pharisees sending their disciples to question Jesus, and in-between those verses and this week’s text, the Sadducees took a round in the inquisition….
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