Daily Liturgy and Scripture

The act of listening seems like a simple thing, but should not be taken for granted. Jesus features it heavily in the parable of the seeds. Not just listening once, but listening in such a way that something additional happens. The best-case-scenario is someone who listens so deeply that God’s Word takes root in their hearts. The rest are only listening half-heartedly. Hearing but thinking about o...

Christ is risen. He is risen indeed! Today is the day that proved Jesus wasn’t wasting his time, and that he wasn’t a lunatic. Up to this point, his claims about being the Son of God could have fallen totally flat. He could have been forgotten, laughed off, dismissed as a blip in history. But not in light of the resurrection. This changes everything. Not only was Jesus proven as God, but he was, a...

It is disturbing to think that all is exposed to God. All of us are pretty much sunk based on that fact. Luckily, Jesus is familiar with our struggle. Taking on flesh, walking our roads and feeling our pains, he is very familiar with the human struggle. Because of that, he is a high priest who sacrificed himself to both cleanse us and lead us. As we remember today that he laid in a tomb on Holy Sa...

Jesus was not caught by surprise in this moment. The chain of events leading to to cross are full of meaning, and God’s plan is coming to fruition. As Jesus came into the world to save it, that salvation is coming true with each smack across his face, with each step toward the cross. It was not a violent overthrow, but a hidden movement into the stronghold of Satan. As many a preacher have said, “...

This is a critical moment. Jesus is doing more than making the disciples' feet clean, he is preparing them for the days to come. Peter, true to his nature, asks for a full bath. Jesus uses this opportunity to unveil the full symbolism of the moment. They are not unclean, except for Judas. The doubter, the loudmouth, the former tax collector -- all of them -- are equipped and ready. The one thing t...

It's intriguing to notice the difference people find between the Kingdom that Jesus preaches and the teaching to which they are accustomed. Is it that everything taught by the traditional Jewish system must be thrown away, because Jesus came to kick the cart over? Certainly not. Jesus said clearly that he didn't come to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. So how does he fulfill that law? By showin...

If you need to see the Trinity in action, here's your verse. Jesus the Son is baptized, God the Father speaks and the Holy Spirit descends. It's a holy moment in which we are invited to participate: as Jesus showed us the way to life, so is he present with us when we follow his example.

With the resurrection, Jesus is ending the time where he walks among his disciples to empower them to make new disciples. It's quite an act of faith on his part. These people he has spend only a few years teaching are now entrusted with carrying on the things which they probably barely understand themselves. What makes it possible? They're not doing it on their own, even when they're not sharing t...

As we enter Holy Week, our reading plan pushes us ahead a bit. Don't worry though, we'll definitely come back to this part of the story as we get close to Easter. The Son of God becomes man, gives himself away, and is exchanged for the revolutionary Barabbas. At his death, he is crucified between two other revolutionaries. Is it any wonder that this event is such a revolution?

The trading of Jesus for Barabbas is full of meaning. Not only is it the work of a conspiracy against the Son of God, it is the willful placing of a man of violence above a man of peace. It is exchanging the agent of a better Kingdom for the agent of destruction. To declare that the blood of an innocent should be on the crowd and their children became more true than they could have imagined. Indee...

Well, Peter blew it. Just like Jesus said he would. There's not even the sense that he went to the high priest's house out of some sense of duty, he just wanted to see how it would end. He left in shame. We may all think we would have done better under the circumstances, but we know how the story ends. Peter wasn't so sure, and there are certainly times when we aren't either. Perhaps the reading f...

It's almost absurd to imagine the God of the universe stooping to become a fetus, and a baby, and a man. Why do such a thing? Wouldn't it have been easier to split the sky open and make a flaming throne that everyone must bow to? But that's not how God operates. From the formation of Israel into a chosen people to the forming of a baby in the womb of a simple young woman, God has chosen to forego...

The behavior of the disciples at this critical moment is almost infuriating. Falling asleep? Several times? Drawing a sword to defend Jesus, as if that had ever been preached by him? Deserting him after he was arrested? It’s a small wonder the church ever came into existence at all. But we mustn’t be too hard on them. These poor guys were taking in a lot that night, and it probably was past their...

The time of Christ's sacrifice and the sacrifice itself were all the working of God. As Jesus came in the flesh, so was his flesh ordained to be a sacrifice for many. His enemies wanted to kill Jesus, but did not want to do so during the Passover. Despite that, it was the Passover feast that set the stage for Jesus' arrest and crucifixion. From start to finish, tied to covenant and promise, God br...

Jesus's encounter with the rich young man back in chapter 19 makes a bit more sense in light of this verse. Why was it so hard for the rich young man to enter the Kingdom? Because becoming wealthy, it was likely that his focus was on keeping his wealth. Because Jesus told him to sell all he had and give it to the poor, that seems like a certainty. Now we see why: it's not that being rich makes you...

When we think of the phrase "the fear of God," the parable of the three servants entrusted with silver might be a good place to return. There is a big difference in the reaction of the servants who have someone else's money to hold. The first two make investments. The verse doesn't say what kind, but an investment does usually have the possibility of failing. They were probably taking some level o...

Jesus envisions a Kingdom that is filled with people who anticipate its coming. When his Kingdom does come, it will not be a dictatorship, or he wouldn't have told the story of the Master who puts his servant in charge of his household. This is because we are training for more than an eternity of floating on clouds, sitting around strumming harps. The Kingdom of Jesus has always been shared. From...

As the apostles remark on how great the temple is, Jesus immediately pops their bubble. The whole place is coming down, and other people will claim to be the Messiah. That is exactly what happened. In 70 AD, the Romans destroyed the temple. Popular rabbis of the time would proclaim others to be the Messiah. These were foretold to the apostles so that they would be ready, and so that they would not...

This must have been a really awkward moment to watch. Jesus is tearing into the religious leaders for being blind guides, for keeping people out of the very Kingdom they refuse to enter themselves. What Kingdom is that? His Kingdom. While this would have certainly been rough to watch, it's actually a good pairing with what he said back in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount. The Kingdom Jesus is...

When listening to what Jesus says to the people following the encounter with the Pharisees, remember to take into account the entire section. It starts with Jesus telling the people not to follow the example of the Pharisees, who do not practice what they preach. This is why he follows that mandate with instructions not to call anyone Rabbi, Father, or Teacher. Because we should never use those wo...

Jesus doesn't dwell a lot on the afterlife, he mostly talks about what life looks like while we're here. This session with the Sadducees is a moment where he decided to talk a bit about life and death. If God weren't the God of the resurrection, how could he remain the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? As Jesus pointed out, God wasn't the god of the dead. For him to be the God of these three (and...

Be careful if you find yourself in opposition to someone you know to be God's representative. If they do their job well, they probably won't always tell us what we want to hear. At times we will be challenged, at times we may find ourselves on the wrong side of things. Sometimes, the other person may experience the same rebuke. The religious leaders weren't particularly fortunate to be up against...

Jesus riding on a donkey was the opposite experience of most parades of the day. If you have ever seen the statues in public squares celebrating great heroes of the past, they are riding a very different animal. Usually it's an enormous horse, because that's the animal used in war. It was almost comical that Jesus chose to ride a donkey, because there was no glory in that choice of rides. Even in...

The upside-down Kingdom of Jesus baffles even his closest followers. It still does today. It's so difficult for us to separate ourselves from the idea of power that we carry as humans, we consistently miss his idea of leadership. It starts from the bottom, never seeking to lord itself over others. This is nothing like what we try to chase: fortune and glory, power and prestige. Those things are no...

Fast, easy answers are not Jesus' style. He seems far more fond of giving people a challenge that's personal to them, something that gives them the opportunity to be transformed if they accept it. This man who has kept all the law but cannot sell his possessions is no exception. Jesus sees him for who he is, sees what stands in the man's way of drawing closer to God, and challenges him with it, an...