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But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, … [Hebrews 10:12]. From our earliest days, we learn how the world works: if you clean your room, then you get your allowance. If you study hard, then you’ll make good grades. If you put in the extra hours at work, then you’ll earn that promotion. It’s how we teach our children, how we navigate our careers, how we build our relationships. This “if-then” thinking is woven so deeply into the fabric of our lives that we often barely notice it. It makes perfect sense. It’s orderly. It’s…

Foreword For nearly five years, I’ve offered weekly meditations of between 1,200 to 1,500 words on one or more of the lectionary readings. This week, however, as I studied the Old Testament reading appointed for this Sunday (1 Kings 17:8-16; the Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Pentecost, RCL, Year B), I decided to attempt something different. First, here’s a summary of the reading: In the midst of a devastating drought, God tells the prophet Elijah something remarkable: “Go to Zarephath, for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” This detail – that God had already spoken to the widow – is often overlooked in the familiar story that follows: At…

Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that [‘YHWH] is one, and besides him there is no other’; and ‘to love him with all the heart and with all the understanding and with all the strength and to love one’s neighbor as oneself — this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.’ When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question [Mark 12:32-34]. Two weeks into my first Economics course at Wake Forest, I was hooked. I couldn’t…

Jesus stood still and said, “Call him here.” And they called the blind man, saying to him, “Take heart; get up, he is calling you.” So throwing off his cloak, he sprang up and came to Jesus. Then Jesus said to him, “What do you want me to do for you?” The blind man said to him, “My teacher, let me see again.” Jesus said to him, “Go; your faith has made you well.” Immediately he regained his sight and followed him on the way [Mark 10:49-52]. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading [the Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost, RCL, Year B], Jesus is making his final journey to Jerusalem. On the…

So also Christ did not glorify himself in becoming a high priest but was appointed by the one who said to him, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, according to the order of Melchizedek.” [Hebrews 5:5-6]. In 1969-70, during my freshman year at Wake Forest, one could drive one’s car from Winston-Salem to Gastonia in a bit less than three hours (the Interstate system hadn’t yet been completed). Of course, that fact was mostly theoretical for me. I didn’t have a car to drive. And, even if I had, it would have made little difference;…

It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of God [Mark 10:25]. Since the Revised Common Lectionary repeats itself every three years, it must have been 33 years ago, when one of our sons, Blair, was 10 (and I was 40), that he and I had a memorable conversation regarding the Gospel lesson appointed for this upcoming Sunday, Mark 10:17-31 [Proper 28, The Season after Pentecost, RCL, Year B]. You know the lesson well. It’s the one about “Jesus and the rich man.” At the time, my day job was at Duke Law School,…

When I see Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars You fixed firm, what is man that You should note him, and the human creature, that You pay him heed, and You make him little less than the gods, with glory and grandeur you crown him? [Psalm 8:4-5]. For a number of years now, Jane and I have joined some of our closest Erskine College/Gastonia friends for a Spring get-together, either on Edisto Island or Pawley’s Island. The beach house on Edisto offers an unusual vantage point. Many ocean-front homes provide a beautiful sight of the morning dawn, since the sun rises in the east.…

John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us [Mark 9:38]. About a half dozen folks who routinely read these weekly meditations shared the second grade with me back in 1958-59. Mrs. Davis, who taught about 40 miscreants at Robinson School (Gaston County) took neither nonsense nor prisoners. Once, when an errant marble had slipped from the jeans pocket of brother, Todd, during a rest period, Mrs. Davis made him stand before the others in the class, empty his pockets, and deposit his entire marble collection into the “special jar” that she kept…

Then he took a little child and put it among them, and taking it in his arms he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes not me but the one who sent me" [Mark 9:36-37]. The irony in this week’s Gospel lesson, Mark 9:30-37 [the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost, RCL, Year B] is palpable. The disciples, unable themselves to cast out a demon from a possessed boy—Jesus always has to do the heavy lifting—find themselves in an argument about who among them is greatest. The disciples would have been comfortable within our society. Being gentle, meek, and kind all…

Losing Lives He called the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “If any wish to come after me, 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, and for the sake of the gospel, will save it …” [Mark 8:34-35]. Some years ago, at a Divinity School conference on church communication, we spent considerable time discussing how to make churches more appealing and accessible to newcomers, especially young families. We debated everything from signage to parking lots, noting the growth in non-denominational congregations, and how…