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Mark 10:35-45
Proper 24B
Digging Into the Text: We perhaps thought that Jesus had settled the disciple’s argument about “who is the greatest” back at Capernaum (9:33-34). But, evidently, the closer they get to Jerusalem, and the more the disciples realize that something big is going to happen, and the more they want have a major role. Jesus has…
Hebrews 5:1-10
Proper 24B
This week’s Epistolary Lesson assumes that for a relationship to exist between God and God’s people, as well as among groups and between individuals, things must be repaired and restored between us. However, Hebrews 5 insists that the only way that can happen is if God does it. During this American political campaign season, both…
Mark 10:17-31
Proper 23B
Digging into the Text: Let’s face it, according to Jesus, lots of our congregations are not fertile ground for the gospel. They are rich, at least by the world’s standards, probably middle to upper middle class, and immersed in a consumer culture that glorifies getting more. Here Jesus comes along this Sunday and urges us…
Hebrews 4:12-16
Proper 23B
At least some Christians generally think of corporate worship as relatively sedate. I suspect that the worship services of most of us who write and read these sermon commentaries leave worshipers feeling pretty safe. However, the author Annie Dillard, in her book Teaching a Stone to Talk, writes about the dangers of meeting God in…
Mark 10:2-16
Proper 22B
Digging into the Text: Once again, this text is complex; it deals with two quite different issues. The first pertains to the issue of marriage and divorce, the second on the childlike way in which disciples “receive the kingdom.” At first it may seem that they are connected because marriage and children typically go together,…
Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12
Proper 22B
Until relatively recently I’d never preached a series of sermons on the book of Hebrews. That’s partly because I’ve struggled to relate it to life in the 20th and 21st centuries. Hebrews has always seemed to me to be so impractical and theological. So I’ve shied away from much of its talk about things like…
Mark 9:38-50
Proper 21B
The challenge of this lectionary text is that it reads like a hodgepodge of Jesus’ sayings, something like the book of Proverbs with its often unconnected string of wisdom sayings. Because of its lack of apparent cohesion, it would be difficult to build a coherent sermon by moving though the entire text. So, the text…
James 5:13-20
Proper 21B
Difficult people, things and circumstances exist over which even the most skilled and powerful people have virtually no control. But God graciously gives God’s adopted sons and daughters at least some control over how we respond to those difficulties. James 5:13-20 at least implies that the apostle understood that as well as anyone. After all,…
Mark 9:30-37
Proper 20B
Digging Into the Text: Jesus and the disciples are “on the road again,” headed for Jerusalem. But Jesus didn’t want anyone to know. He didn’t want any more disturbances or interruptions because he was teaching the disciples, preparing them for what lay ahead. Now, for the second time he tells them exactly what it is…
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a
Proper 20B
The scope of this Sunday’s Lectionary Epistle makes the lesson somewhat awkward. It, after all, spans parts of at least five paragraphs and two subject headings in most English Bible translations. This lesson also simply omits most translations’ second half of verse 8. That awkwardness will leave at least some of us searching hard to…
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