Month: August 2024

So the Pharisees and the scribes asked him, “Why do your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders but eat with defiled hands?” He said to them, “Isaiah prophesied rightly about you hypocrites, as it is written, ‘This people honors me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching human precepts as doctrines.’ “You abandon the commandment of God and hold to human tradition” [Mark 7:5-8]. Mark records miracle feeding stories in the chapters that we number 6 and 8 of his Gospel. In chapter 6, Jesus feeds at least 5,000 persons with five loaves and two fish.…

And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted by the Father.” Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God” [John 6:65-69]. Three years ago today, a close friend, Rick Jenkins, died here in Durham. A number of you, particularly those in Carolina Arbors, knew Rick…

At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night, and God said, “Ask what I should give you” [1 Kings 3:5]. While some—perhaps many—might not recall the specifics of how Solomon came to be gifted with wisdom, few within our Judeo-Christian society would be unaware of that important Solomonic characteristic. Indeed, politicians, church and business leaders, educators, and others are often invited to exercise “the wisdom of Solomon.” And, of course, who can forget Solomon’s wise solution to the question as to which of two women was the mother of one baby [1 Kings 3:16-28]? This week’s OT reading [1 Kings 2:10-12; 3:3-14, the Thirteenth Sunday after…

Introduction This week’s Gospel reading [John 6:35, 41-51, the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost, RCL, Year B] confronts us with Jesus’ provocative self-identification, “I AM the bread of life” [John 6:35a]. In this week’s reading, Jesus repeats his statement three more times. His was not a slip of the tongue. For years now, I’ve been struck by a verse that follows this week’s lesson: From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him’ (John 6:66). The Gospel writer’s stark statement reveals the shocking impact of Jesus’ words on His original audience. To devout Jewish believers of the time, Jesus’ statements about eating His flesh and drinking…