A Woman, a Ruler and Two Centers
Then Jesus told them a parable about their need to pray always and to not get discouraged. (Luke 18.1) This week we are looking at the parable referred to by many as the parable of the unjust ruler and the…
The Non-normative Jesus
His disciples said to him, “If such is the case of a man with his wife, it is better not to marry.” But he said to them, “Not everyone can accept this teaching, but only those to whom it is…
The Demoniac, the Crowd and the way of Mercy rather than Sacrifice.
Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” (Mark 5:9) I must confess that this is one of the most bizarre and difficult sections of the four Jesus narratives. In…
Part 3 of 3 – Jesus and the Living Water
Jesus and the Living Water Part 3 of 3 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” (John 4:16) Stop, and consider. A woman comes for water every day in the middle of the day, instead of…
Part 2 of 3 – Jesus and Women
“Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman” (John 4.27). Last week we looked at Jesus and the “Us vs. Them” paradigm of the Jews and the Samaritans. This week, I’d like to…
Part 1 of 3 – Jesus and the Samaritans
The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) (John 4.9) This week I want to begin…
The Scapegoating/Betraying of Jesus at Bethesda
“Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered…
Jesus Stops A Lynching and the LGBTQ Community
At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery . .…