Pentecost 18 C: Wealth and Relationships

Luke 16:1-13 Dear Partner in Preaching, So what do you think: is it ever okay to tell the congregation that you really have no idea what a passage means? I know, I know, that may be hard to do, as we are, after all, supposed to be the experts in this kind of thing. Moreover, it might be a tad scandalous for some, as they have a pretty high confidence in your ability to help them understand the Scriptures. At the same time, though, it might also be comforting, as when they scratch their heads in perplexity at a passage like this one, they now know they’re not alone. It’s not that they’re not smart enough or lack training, it’s that...

John 1:3a

All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. Each of the four Evangelists has a symbol – Mark is a lion, Luke a bull, Matthew a man – that represents something of the character of the Gospel associated with that author. John’s symbol is the...

Matthew 7:28-29

Now when Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as their scribes. So I wonder what Matthew means when he says that Jesus taught “as one having authority, and not as their scribes.” I mean, I...

Matthew 6:25-33

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your...