Proper 25B (Mark 10:46-52) – 10/25/2009

Insider or outsider; privileged or marginalized; disciple or blind beggar: regardless of one’s position in life we are presented with a question this morning, a question that demands our response. We heard Jesus ask this question of James and John last Sunday and we hear Jesus ask this question again this morning: “What do you want me to do for you?” This question is an invitation to us for reflection and action; an invitation from Jesus for help as we travel our journey of discipleship. But how do we respond? Continue reading →

Proper 23B (Mark 10:17-31) – 10/11/2009

The story of the rich man seeking Jesus’ advice about the path that leads to eternal life is a lesson many of us have heard several times. This is likely so because the story is presented in all three synoptic Gospel accounts. The lesson is familiar and the words of the preacher can often be familiar, but the teaching can often be difficult to incorporate into one’s life.  Continue reading →

Proper 20B (Mark 9:30-37) – 09/20/2009

Who is the greatest of all? The debate involved with that question never seems to lose our interest and we enjoy granting the title to many different people. We proclaim the Greatest Mom and the Greatest Dad so often that these titles can be obtained on coffee mugs (ordered on the internet with 24 hour shipping!). We declare certain sports teams the Greatest of their generation and Muhammad Ali was the self-proclaimed Greatest of all time! We must acknowledge that any example of someone declared “the greatest” in their field requires us to consider their contributions using a particular formula. Continue reading →

Proper 18B (James 2:1-17) – 09/06/2009

As I have read and reflected on our Scripture readings throughout the week, I have been very mindful that today is the middle of the Labor Day weekend. Tomorrow is the day selected to remember the work that we do throughout the year. With this day in the back of my mind, the epistle reading from James seemed to contain some rather timely advice for us to consider. The message of our reading from James is that our work matters; our actions matter in our daily lives as followers of Christ. Continue reading →