Relating, Creating, Transforming
Matthew 25:1-13 Question: in your experience, what is the most difficult thing to wait for? Today’s parable story in Matthew is a story about waiting. But admittedly, it’s a weird story, and its characters seem outdated. We’re not really used to hearing about virgins or bridesmaids ushering a groom to his wedding. First century marriage […]
Read MoreMatthew 22:15-22 Lions and tigers and bears—oh my! But in this case, it’s money and religion and politics—oh my! Yes, that’s right. It’s time to talk about these SCARY things. It IS almost Halloween, after all. Let’s talk about money, first, which leads to politics, which leads to religion! Jesus of Nazareth probably wouldn’t be […]
Read MoreMatthew 21:23-32 I was in the church office last Sunday facilitating a wedding planning meeting when one of the children from the church burst in the room. He politely stopped in the doorway, though, and asked me a question: Is there a door that leads to outside? Let me explain how the office is set […]
Read MoreExodus 3:1-7; 11-15 Friday marked the beginning of the Ganesha Festival for Hindus around the world. Ganesh Chaturthi festival honors Lord Ganesh[a], the form or deity that represents intellect and wisdom. The son of goddess Parvati, Ganesh is identified by his elephant head. The festival is 10 days of music, drums, prayers, dancing, and food. […]
Read MoreMatthew 16:13-20 I’ve been reading Bart Ehrman’s book, How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation of a Jewish Preacher from Galilee, over the last few months. I’m taking my time. It is a book that I think people who identify as Christians should most certainly read. It took Ehrman, a NT scholar, eight years to research […]
Read MoreMatthew 14:22-33 The Hobbit, a book by JRR Tolkien, begins with this line: “in a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” The author Tolkien lets us the reader know that this is not a nasty or unkempt hole, like the lair of a mouse, but rather a cozy place, filled with fine furniture, […]
Read MoreJohn 14:15-21 That was a scene from the last movie of the Matrix trilogy, Matrix Revolutions. Neo, a human being played by Keanu Reeves, meets a family. This “family” is made up of all computer programs in the virtual reality called the matrix. The father, Rama-Kandra, tells Neo that he loves his his daughter, Sati, […]
Read MoreJohn 14:1-14 Kids are great at asking questions. It’s true, and this constant inquiry helps children make sense of the world and also helps them figure out how to navigate the things happening all around them. Studies show that when we are four or five years old, we ask the most questions. As we get […]
Read MoreJohn 10:1-10 and Psalm 23 A SIDE NOTE: Not really sure why, but recently Rihanna’s song We Found Love has been in my head. I really don’t have any idea if her song has anything to do with what it makes me think about it. But I will just say that the phrase “We found […]
Read MoreLuke 24:13-35 Watch this Israeli filmmaker walking forward, yet backwards…. This creative illusion is an example of two things: How what we see can play tricks on us [depending on our conditioning] Walking forward, even when it’s actually walking backward…is moving. Look, if any of us are healthy enough to walk—we should walk, and as […]
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