John the Baptist was in the wilderness. He went there with a message. It takes courage to cry out to the occupiers of the wilderness with a vision of hope. He did it with nerve, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The crowds were there from all regions. It seems they […]

Predictions are pointless, Jesus tells his disciples. What they wanted to know, he says, neither angels nor even the Son could tell them. Upon their first hearing, these words of Jesus may whistle by, their sharp edge of warning falling on the dull side of awareness. In our attempts to manage the unknown, we miss […]

Rulers are defined by their power over others. They can levy taxes, conscript youth into armies, open or close borders, and enforce policies that direct the daily lives of the people in their realm. When Pilate interviews Jesus, he says to him, “Do you not know that I have power to release you, and power […]

“What’s this world coming to?” The circumstances that call forth this question are different for different people, but the question occurs to nearly all of us at some point in our lives. The gospel reading for this Sunday speaks comfort and encouragement to people who feel powerless in the face of huge changes. The world […]

In our gospel today, some Sadducees come to Jesus with a question. Their intent is to embarrass the teacher and to demonstrate how ridiculous the notion of resurrection is. Who could imagine such a thing? The scene they paint features would-be husbands lining up and waiting, like contestants on The Bachelorette, to see “Whose wife […]

When we expect the easing of grief to follow a straight line—imagining that today should be better than yesterday, and tomorrow a little better still—we are shocked and frustrated when another wave of weeping overtakes us. Hope rises, only to be dashed. To those putting one foot in front of the other on the winding […]

We commemorate the Reformation as a time when the freedom found in knowing Jesus and his saving work was discovered anew. Five hundred years later it is easy for the newness of this message to be part of our old story. It is easy to look past how much has changed in our own lives […]

Today’s gospel is an encouragement to always be in prayer, but the parable Jesus uses to urge people to pray is a complicated one. Jesus says the judge is unjust. The widow in the story is persistent in pestering the judge for the verdict she seeks. The judge is not convinced by evidence or reason, […]

“Increase our faith!” (Luke 17:5). This request from the disciples seems perfectly reasonable. Jesus’ response about faith the size of a mustard seed defies the disciples’ expectations of what an increase in faith looks like. He then shares a reflection about obedience and humility. An increase in faith, Jesus seems to be saying, does not […]