In studying this week’s first reading from Numbers, a couple of problems came up for me that I think speak clearly to our continued experiences as God’s people today. But before I go there, let’s set the stage for what’s happening in Numbers 11. The people are wandering in the wilderness, having been miraculously […]
It occurred to me this week that I’ve been hitting the Lutheran perspective pretty hard of late in my preaching – not that I’m apologizing for that, mind you. In fact, I’m going to start, again today, with a quote from Martin Luther’s writings, from the Introduction to the Letters of James and Jude where […]
[Click here for video] Simul justus et peccator – the Latin phrase commonly translated as: “Simultaneously saint and sinner” or, more precisely, “simultaneously justified and sinner” is an important phrase that every Lutheran ought to know. It speaks to the reality of human life and to how what Luther would call our old nature (the […]
Say to those who are of a fearful heart: “Be strong, do not fear! Here comes your God. He will come with vengeance, with terrible recompense. He will come and save you. How do you hear this word of God? Is it good news to you that God is coming with vengeance and terrible […]
[Click here for video] It’s always interesting to me to consider out of what context a particular book of Scripture springs. It’s also interesting to me to consider other parts of Scripture and Christian tradition as they either support or, at times, argue against, as it were, a particular book of Scripture, or a particular […]
[Click here for video] Today we come to the end of our series in John Chapter 6, and we hear John’s description of the fallout that results from Jesus’ teaching. Jesus’ rhetoric has been getting more and more intense, as he’s challenged the religious history and beliefs of his hearers, claiming divinity for himself through […]
[Click here for video] When we started this series in John chapter 6, I pointed out that this long discourse springs from the feeding of the multitude with 5 loaves and 2 fish, but that it also stands in stark contrast to the very different meal we read about a couple of weeks before we […]
[click here for video] “I am” as you’ve heard me say repeatedly through this John 6 series, is the name of God in Hebrew. The writer of the Gospel of John certainly knew this, so when he places these words on the lips of Jesus, he knows full well what he’s doing – he’s pointing […]
As I studied this week’s lessons I was struck by a pattern that I saw in our lectionary texts for the week. It seems to me that this week’s lessons can illuminate the three articles of the Creed (and vice versa). Part of the reason I started to see this pattern, in fact, is right […]
Today we leave Mark’s Gospel, the primary Gospel assigned to this year, and we begin a series of readings in John’s Gospel, the 6th Chapter. This chapter is mostly a discourse on bread – manna, bread from heaven, the bread of life, Jesus as living bread. But before the discourse, which we’ll read through together […]