Today's Gospel reading is the last in a series of Gospel readings from Matthew that dazzle me with their judgmentalism and violence. Three weeks ago we heard the parable of the unforgiving servant and how the master in the parable threw him and his wife and children into prison for the rest of their lives …
What about the Ten Commandments?
The incident of Jesus and the rich young man (or 'ruler' in one version) poses some questions worth discussing. The man in question asks Jesus what he must do to receive eternal life. Jesus goes on to quote five of the "Ten Commandments" that Moses received on Mount Sinai. Here are the commandments as they are …
Did Jesus Really Say…?
Last Sunday's Gospel reading in the Orthodox Church presented some serious conundrums - serious at least to me, but perhaps not to anyone else. Here is the Gospel passage as it was read at Liturgy: The Lord said this parable: "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with …
The φρόνημα of the Cross
The cross is the stumbling block for most people who turn away from Christianity or refuse to accept its vision of God. How could God be so cruel as to demand such a thing? How could God allow his son to die such a horrible death? Of course to even ask a question such …
The Truth About Repentance
I read an incredible story in the Washington Post. A man is trying to get his son’s death sentence commuted to life. What was the son’s crime? He conspired with two other men to kill his parents and his brother! The mother and brother were killed and the father barely survived. The father forgave his …
The church knows only one totality
In a previous post I outlined some thoughts Karl Barth offered at a gathering in 1962 and which constitute one chapter of the book, Barth in Conversation. He was asked to say something about the church in a totalitarian state, such as existed in 1962 in East Germany and other countries behind the Iron Curtain. …
Unfinished Business with the Devil
What did Jesus do after his baptism? Why was he baptized to begin with? Perhaps we will find the answer by looking at what happened after his baptism. Today’s Gospel reading coming on the Sunday after Epiphany might give you the impression that right after his baptism he began preaching, “Repent for the kingdom …
Cruciform Love
A few weeks ago I had told of a woman we met in October at the island of Hydra in Greece. She had just returned from Latin America and vowed never to return. She was turned off by the proliferation of crucifixes. Everywhere she went in Latin America there were crucifixes, and she wanted no …
Powers and Principalities Then and Now
Jesus encountered constant opposition and criticism for breaking sabbath rules and the taboos of society. In the healing of the woman in Luke 10:10-17, the synagogue leader could not tolerate Jesus healing on the sabbath. He was following the biblical rules that clearly prohibited work on the sabbath. Jesus responded that healing was not …
Behind the Curtain
The Guardian newspaper published an article today about the super-rich of Greenwich, Connecticut, and how they benefit from a tax code loophole called "carried interest". As a result of this loophole, they pay taxes at a much lower rate than most Americans. People are beginning to wake up, and today's article in the Guardian was …
Ancient Answers 