Creative Space for Wanderers
Just a week before Passover, Jesus arrives at Bethany. The Pharisees and chief priests are on high alert, looking for Jesus, wanting to arrest him and complete their mission to kill him. Apparently they have Lazarus in their sights as well. Mary, the sister of Lazarus, pours expensive perfume on the feet of Jesus–crazy thing …
The Parable of the Talents (bags of gold in NIV 2011) and Ten Minas have many similarities that might be summarized by saying, doing nothing is unacceptable. Do something with what you’ve been given. Resources (talents) + Labor (work) + Time = Profit[1] From the reference in Bible.org we see a formula for the adage …
Continue reading “Until I Return — Parable of the Ten Minas”
One of the favorite stories for children’s pastors, the imagery of this story is fascinating. Zacchaeus is a short man physically and a wealthy man despised by many. As a chief tax collector, he was the tax collector’s tax collector! We’ve read many times that tax collectors were not well thought of, so here we have …
Though many rebuked the blind men for shouting out to Jesus, they continued and even got louder. Interesting. Bartimaeus and his companion heard the commotion, they knew something unusual was happening and so they asked for clarification and found out that “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” This might be the only opportunity they get …
Continue reading “Healing of blind Bartimaeus and his companion”
In this passage we find the Zebedee’s approaching Jesus to ask for a privilege: the brothers, James and John, want to be seated to the left and right of Jesus–at his side. Why would they ask such a thing? Most of the times I’ve read this, I just think they are being foolish, even self-serving, …
Continue reading “James and John and Mom — Request for Honored Positions”
At this point, Jesus is headed to Jerusalem with his disciples and others who are following. Once again, Jesus predicts his arrest, inquisition, death and resurrection. Once again, the disciples are left scratching their heads trying to understand this consistent message from Jesus. Two phrases caught my attention this morning: 1) Jesus took his disciples …
Entitlement. That’s the word that rings out in this parable. We’ve been taught in this country that we are entitled in many ways. I don’t think this was the intent of preceding generations when they proclaimed lofty goals for every American citizen. Over time, perhaps through the legal system, the individual wins out over the …
The Rich man in this passage begs Jesus to answer his burning question, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus clearly explains this is a gift to be given, not a thing to acquire. It’s interesting that Jesus highlights some of the Ten Commandments, certainly something every Jew would know well. If we consider …
The Synoptic Gospels all include a record of people bringing children to Jesus. The disciples rebuke them, but Jesus corrects them and invites the children to come and sit in his arms. He blessed them and used their innocence to remind us that the Kingdom of God is a gift, not something we can earn …
Continue reading “Example of little children in relation to the kingdom”
I included “brief” in the title for this post because Jesus doesn’t need a lot of words on this topic. It’s clear and concise. Yet this is a volatile and personal topic that demands our attention. No, we don’t need more words from Jesus on the topic. As followers for Christ we enter marriage with the …