Text: Matthew 15:21-28 Dear Partner in Preaching, I’ve got two questions for you arising from the Gospel reading this week. And I’ll warn you ahead of time that each question which might rock a few boats in your community. First question: can Jesus learn? I know that may sound odd. On the one hand, we may quickly answer, “Sure, why not?” Until we worry about the theological implications of that answer. If Jesus learns, a voice inside us may ask, does that means he’s not perfect, or complete, or sinless, or…. And suddenly a cadre of theological police seem to be patrolling the long corridors of our imagination. I ask this first...
Nature
posted by DJL
On this day, one hundred and sixty years ago (1854, for those who struggle to do math on the weekend 🙂 ), Henry David Thoreau’s book Walden was published. In it he chronicled the two years he spent living in a one-room cabin he’d built for himself by Walden Pond on the property of his...
Matthew 13:1-9
posted by DJL
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. And he told them many things in parables, saying: “Listen! A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed,...
What Are Your Favorite Podcasts?
posted by DJL
In just a few short weeks, I’ll begin my new position at The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. And…I…am…completely…and…totally…thrilled! When folks ask me about the job, they almost always ask, first, about the start date and then, second, about the commute. When I tell them it’s an hour drive door-to-door (with good traffic!), they almost immediately ask what I’m going to do with the time and I just as quickly answer, “Thank goodness for podcasts!” And it’s true. I love listening to podcasts. While many have commented that we’re in a new golden age of television – and I totally agree – I also think...
Matthew 13:1-2
posted by DJL
That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the lake. Such great crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat there, while the whole crowd stood on the beach. We’re about to enter into what I think is one of the more fascinating sections of Matthew’s Gospel,...