Sunday, September 19, 2021: James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a; Mark 9:30-37 It would be very easy to come away from these readings with the general lesson to ‘not be a jerk.’ To be nice. And maybe that’s why the great theologian and reformer Martin Luther didn’t have much time for James, because it’s easy to see it […]

Sunday, September 12, 2021: James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38 A little story from just a few weeks ago someone you might know — we’ll call him “Tom” — sent me home with a couple pots of beautiful yellow flowers (black eyed susans, or something along those lines). It took me a few days before I planted […]

Sunday, September 5, 2021: James 2:1-17 Mark 4:27-34 Did you find yourself reacting strongly to that reading we just heard? A noticeable reaction, like when drinking Buckley’s cough syrup? Did the hairs stand up on the back of your neck? Did you find yourself disappointed in our Saviour? Or was your heart breaking for the […]

Sunday, August 29, 2021: James 1:17-27 Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 On Facebook a former classmate of mine joked how it’s a little awkward to have this gospel reading, with its criticism of hand-washing, in the contemporary context of a pandemic. But both of those readings, from James and Mark, have to do with living out […]

Sunday, August 22, 2021: John 6:56-66 Today marks the last of four Sundays in which we’ve explored this part of John’s Gospel, concerning Jesus — and specifically Jesus’s flesh — as life for the world. Last week’s celebration of St. Mary was a detour, though I can’t help but think that it fits our theme, […]