Month: August 2023

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it [Matthew 16:24-25, a portion of the Gospel reading assigned for the Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost, RCL, Year A]. The 29-year-old drove west along U.S. Hwy. 74. He was in no hurry; he’d allowed two hours for the trip from Gastonia that took just over one. Forest City lay 10 miles behind him. He had about 10 more miles before he’d reach Columbus, the…

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is? [Matthew 16:13, NIV]. One of the core questions of Christianity is found within the important Gospel lesson appointed for this upcoming Sunday [Matthew 16:13-20, the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, RCL, Year A]. That central question is actually the final of three questions offered to the small band of disciples who have been following Jesus primarily in Galilee, as he heals, empowers, and teaches those who have eyes to see and ears to hear [Mt. 13:9-16]. He has brought his merry band of men (and not a few women)…

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table” [Matthew 15:24-27, NRSV]. I am reminded of a short discussion that Todd (for the several of you who don’t know him, Todd is my identical twin brother) and I had in our living room with a close friend when the three of us were about 10 or 11 years old.…

And they said to each other, “Here comes that dream-master! And so now, let us kill him and fling him into one of the pits and we can say, a vicious beast has devoured him, and we shall see what will come of his dreams” [Genesis 37: 19-20, The Hebrew Bible, tr. by Robert Alter]. The wife looked at her husband, whose serial infidelity had surfaced once again. Too weary to continue the struggle—she’d fought for their union on several prior, similar occasions—she looked at him through the tears in her eyes and asked, “How did we get to this?” The man thought it odd that a police car had…