Writing a children’s sermon on Mark 7:1-23 (or the shortened version assigned by the lectionary, Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23) presents me with some dilemmas. (You can find my regular meditation on this passage here.) Telling this story to a grown-up, say someone who had never read the Gospels or heard them in church, requires a […]
Get Behind Me and Take Up Your Cross
A Monday Meditation on Matthew 16:21-28 — Year A, Proper 17(22) On the 13th Sunday after Pentecost, the Gospel reading in the Revised Common Lectionary is Matthew 16:21-28, where Jesus meekly says to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan!” That is, we pick up where we left off last week. The pause between last week’s part […]
Monday Meditation: RCL Year C, 12th Sunday after Pentecost/Proper 17(22), Luke 14:1, 7-14
I’m going to really try to be brief today. I’m recovering from surgery and, though health and energy are coming, the progress is slow. Luke 14:1, 7-14 The scene is a Pharisee’s house on the Sabbath. Jesus & co. are there for a meal — a banquet, it seems, with many guests. The lectionary cuts […]