According to tradition, Jesus has been a public figure for three years. During this time, he has developed a reputation for being someone who taught with extraordinary authority. His interpretation of the teachings of his Jewish faith endeared him to everyone except the religious authorities. After a number of run-ins
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Psalm 130 • Out of the depths I cry to God. Ezekiel 37: 1-14 • Valley of dry bones John 11:1-45 • The raising of Lazarus. Wisdom takes us beyond thought to deeper knowing. Wisdom grounds us in grace. Both the story of the dry bones and the raising of
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The final sentence of 1 Samuel 15 is “And God was sorry to have made Saul king over Israel.” It may come as a surprise that the Old Testament portrays God as fallible, as expressing regret over something as important as having made a wrong choice in a matter as
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Psalm 95 • Let us shout to the rock of our salvation. Romans 5: 1-5 • Hope in God. John 4:5-42 • Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Lent is a season of accountability, of trust in God, and learning to use our best judgement. Jesus is a living example of
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In the Genesis reading, we hear God speaking to Abram, a childless, Bedouin septuagenarian. God tells Abram that if he and his equally aged wife Sarai leave their current home and everything they know, God will make them into a great nation and a blessing to all families on earth.
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Psalm 32 • Blessed are those whose sins are forgiven. Matthew 4:1-11 • Jesus tempted in the desert. The story of Jesus being tempted in the desert is one that inspires us, and challenges us. Can we be as strong as Jesus when faced with a choice that either trusts
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When it comes to the “Transfiguration” of Jesus, his being transformed in appearance, chatting with Moses and Elijah on a mountain and the very voice of God heard in a “bright cloud”, this story is simply beyond us. That may be just the point that God’s presence is significantly in
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Deuteronomy 30:15-20 • Choose the fullness of life. Matthew 5:21-26 • Teaching on anger. We belong to God. This is God’s promise to us. We belong, we have purpose. Through Jesus we learn about healthy relationships and how to treat one another. Often religious institutions refer to God’s commandments as
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Isaiah restates one of the central messages of the prophets: God is not impressed by spiritual practices and rituals if they are only performative and not sincere. Personal, penitential acts intended to bring a person closer to God are meaningless and even counterproductive if not done with sincere, God-seeking in
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It may come as a surprise that there were tensions within even the earliest communities that gathered around the life and teachings of Jesus. Which teacher and leader had the most authority and what was this authority based on? Was authority based on a person’s social standing? On miraculous signs?
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