Month: March 2022

But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages….” [John 12:4-5]. As we move toward the Gospel reading for this upcoming Sunday, John 12:1-8 [the Fifth Sunday in Lent, RCL, Year C], we take note that Death is in the air. It has been perhaps a week or so—the Gospel writer gives no specific time frame—since Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead [see John 11:44]. John, the Gospel writer, makes it clear: the raising of the dead man, Lazarus, was one sign too many for the Pharisees.…

Then the father said to him, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours. But we had to celebrate and rejoice, because this brother of yours was dead and has come to life; he was lost and has been found.” [Luke 15:31-32]. Over the years, I have found that often the most difficult passages of Holy Scripture upon which to preach or write are not the ones that are relatively unknown—e.g., the Outrage at Gibeah [Judges 19-20] or Jacob’s use of strange genetics in his bargain with his father-in-law, Laban [Genesis 30-31], but rather those portions of the holy text that are most familiar, such…

Then he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down’” [Luke 13:6-9]. As you likely know from an earlier post, Jane…

And now, too, said the LORD, turn back to Me with all your heart, in fasting and weeping and mourning, and rend your heart, not your garments, and turn back to the LORD your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in kindness and relenting over evil [Joel 2:12-13, THE HEBREW BIBLE, tr. by Robert Alter, a portion of the OT reading appointed for Ash Wednesday, RCL, Year C]. The Revised Common Lectionary’s OT reading for Ash Wednesday is always the same: Joel 2:1-2, 12-17. Although its use on Ash Wednesday enjoys a long tradition, that use is not without contextual issues. For example, the…