In a few minutes we’ll sing a hymn about God’s eternal giving of gifts enumerated as “nature’s wonder, Jesus’ wisdom, costly cross, grave’s shattered door.” And we know that these are but some of God’s gifts. Here’s the thing: from our human standpoint it’s often difficult to recognize these gifts, let alone receive them or respond to them. Our passages today all help us to think about receiving the gifts, mostly by negative example.

In the introductory passage from the Book of Exodus, the Israelites – after being out of slavery about six weeks – were “complaining” to Moses and… Continue reading →

Most of us like stories that have happy endings – it’s just one of those built-in ways in which we cope with our own stories that we hope will turn out well, but don’t always. Jesus told a story one day that dealt with the topic of forgiveness. And it didn’t turn out in a way that would make many of us comfortable or happy.

The story is found in Matthew chapter 18, which gathers together materials that give the Gospel writer’s take on Jesus’ teaching about how to be a community of faith together in hard times. He said… Continue reading →

Each of today’s readings, though diverse, can be read as making a distinction between “us” and “them.” First, there’s the story of the establishment of the Passover from Exodus 12. We are used to hearing this text as a call to remember what God has done for us. We’ve been taught, at least tacitly, to hear this text as triumphant Israelites, about to be delivered from slavery by the God of our ancestors who will make quick work of the might and wealth of Egypt. The commemoration of this event remakes Israel’s year. Before, it had begun in the autumn,… Continue reading →

Many people say they believe in God, but don’t go to church. This fact has led to a multimillion dollar industry that aims to get those folk in the doors. Many of the resources suggest that if we’ll just get the marketing right or the sociology or the doctrine right, we’ll succeed. Some of these resources even confuse “outreach” with “in-drag.” My own conviction is that much of what isn’t right is more basic than these things. Nonetheless, it is a problem that people claim to believe in God, even in Jesus, but not in the church. But, let me… Continue reading →