Category Archive

We all know the parable of the wheat and the weeds.  And Matthew’s Gospel conveniently provides an interpretive guide.  So it’s easy to skim this teaching, and to float along its surface … assuming the meaning is obvious.  So obvious that AI can give you an instantaneous interpretation and I quote “God allows both good and bad to coexist in the world for a time.  Because human judgments are flawed, hastily attempting to root out all evil or false believers (the weeds) could result in harming the innocent.”  There is however ultimate justice: “Evil (the weeds) will not go unpunished …

Jesus sat beside the sea and he told them many things in parables “Listen!  A sower went out to sow…the reign of heaven may be compared to someone who sowed good seed in the field; but while everyone was asleep an enemy came and sowed weeds…the reign of heaven is like a mustard seed…like yeast…a treasure hidden in a field…a merchant in search of fine pearls…a net thrown into the sea…” Between now and the end of the month as we move through the 13th chapter of Matthew we will be as inundated with parables about the reign of God …

Her finely touched spirit had still its fine issues, though they were not widely visible. Her full nature, like that river of which Cyrus broke the strength, spent itself in channels which had no great name on the earth. But the effect of her being on those around her was incalculably diffusive: for the growing good of the world is partly dependent on unhistoric acts; and that things are not so ill with you and me as they might have been, is half owing to the number who lived faithfully a hidden life, and rest in unvisited tombs. These are …

25At that time Jesus said, ……….. 28“Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”          Jesus said to the crowds…’come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.’ The ‘rest’ in Matthew’s text is the Greek word ‘anapausis’ and can refer to Sabbath rest, …

Those of you who have attended of Holy Wisdom’s Sunday Assembly for any length of time will know that your homilists do not choose which biblical passages will be assigned to us for any given Sunday. Instead, for each Sunday we face a trio of readings identified by the Revised Common Lectionary. The third of these readings, taken from one of the four gospels, carries the most weight. I tell you this to remind you that the choice to speak on this passage from the tenth chapter of Matthew’s gospel was not mine. Faced by the call somehow to unwrap …

The Gospel verses we just heard present an important shift in Matthew’s account of Jesus’ life. Prior to our verses, information focused on how Jesus established his ministry through his teaching and his healing activities. Then, like in a conversation when someone says, “enough about me, how about you?”, the writer’s focus shifts to those who follow and work with Jesus and what they receive as their missionary imperative. In Biblical studies, this section is called the missionary discourse. So, today on the 3rd Sunday of Pentecost, it feels like as good of a time as any to explore some …

A bit of a disclaimer before I begin.  Instead of the traditional, singular focus on the Pentecost story in Acts 2, my focus today will be on the gifts of the spirit proclaimed across all of today’s readings.  And so, I begin. “It was evening on the day Jesus rose from the dead, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear……  Jesus had just been crucified by the state because he had stood with the poor, the sick, the lame, the hungry, the stranger, women, children, sinners …

On Ascension Sunday in 2024 I gave the homily.  It was also Mother’s Day on that Sunday. We have another secular holiday on this Sunday….Syttende mai …. the 17th of May which is for us of Norwegian ancestry a day remember also as Constitution Day. So there are parades, and meals w/lefsa & rommegrot (heart attack in a bowl) made of flour, sugar, and butter!! Delish! But Ascension Sunday is a Sunday with plenty of significance of its own. As Rex noted in the introduction, the absolutely remarkable & mysterious story of Jesus’ ascension is truly a story worthy of …

Today Peter encourages us to imitate Jesus under every trial or form of oppression. While Jesus’ crucifixion will not shield us from trials, his Spirit will accompany us always. Jesus’ Justice is given through the promise he gave, and he is faithful. So it is that our justice is shown in our own fidelity to others.We belong to one another, bound by the love given us!  How do you account for the hope that is in you? Peter’s admonishment that we ought to ‘live above reproach’ was strategic; for doing so may attract followers – and our witness of love …

“Show us God,” Philip says. You can hear Jesus’ exasperation in his answer. On this side of the resurrection, we know that if we have seen Jesus, we have seen God. Yet, even we, when in dire straits, might like to see God come down and wipe out the evil in the world. Those suffering from war, famine, illness might want to see God come and rescue them from their suffering. We are used to hearing this passage at funeral services where it comforts us to know that we have a place with God after death. Yet this passage is …