Dear Partner in Preaching, I don’t know about you, but I think that, more often than not, I’m with the crowds. You know, the people who say Jesus is like John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. Oh, that’s not what I confess, of course. When it comes time to answer the question in public, I’m quick to join myself to Peter’s insight, claiming it as my own, or at least assenting to it. And each time to I do, I swear I mean it. But if actions speak louder than words – and you and I both know they do – then I have to admit that most of my actions don’t confess that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living...

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...

Dear Partner in Preaching, Have you ever noticed that it’s often in the most challenging times of life that we sense God’s presence most clearly? I’m not saying it should be this way. Or that God only appears when we most need God. Rather, I think that there’s just something about significant challenges and trials that clarify our priorities and cut through the manifold distractions of everyday life so that we may see God more clearly. I think that’s part of what’s going on in today’s Gospel reading. After feeding the thousands who followed him into the wilderness, Jesus commands the disciples to head across the sea without...

Dear Partner in Preaching, Do me a favor and resist the pedestrian temptation to call Jesus’ feeding of the five thousand a miracle. It’s not that I don’t understand the appeal of describing this event as a miracle – it’s in all four gospels and all that – or that it’s technically inaccurate – what Jesus does is rather wondrous. But I nevertheless worry that by drawing attention to Jesus’ act of feeding these crowds we actually may actually overlook the more significant miracles that take place in the story Matthew narrates. Here’s the thing: while we may debate whether Jesus suspended the...

Dear Partner in Preaching, In a remarkable little book called How to Do Things with Words, philosopher J. L. Austin makes the claim that, contrary to conventional wisdom, words don’t simply describe things but actually make things happen. Words, that is, aren’t merely descriptive but are evocative, even creative. When two persons say, “I do” in the context of a marriage ceremony, for instance, they are not merely describing the relationship they are entering into but actually creating it. And when some says “I love you” or “I hate you” we don’t only hear those words but actually feel the force they exert upon us. Words, in...

Dear Partner in Preaching, If there was ever a parable that helped make the faith we preach on Sunday useful to our people Monday through Saturday, this is probably it. Before jumping into the parable itself, though, I should probably say a word about what I mean by “useful.” Some, I know, may object to such a pragmatic, even utilitarian word to talk about the faith. After all, shouldn’t we believe just because, well, we should, without seeking any tangible benefit and outcome? Maybe, at least in an ideal world. But one of things I’ve learned both through parish ministry and, more recently, through research on congregational vibrancy...