Luke 18

Luke says this story is about prayer. But the widow keeps asking for justice.

The parable of the widow and the unjust judge might give us a radical look at the face of God.

What we can learn from the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector

This Reformation Day, I'm preaching the Gospel text from the lectionary.

After our time in the pediatric cardiac ICU, we brought home a healthy baby. Others made funeral plans.

This is a troubling parable.

Jesus' characters aren't nuanced; they're all elbows and ankles.

Injustice comes with so many alibis and aliases.
 

What does Mr. Publican do once he arrives at home?

Nations as well as individuals need to look in the moral mirror in order to stop deceiving ourselves.

Maybe the parable of the persistent widow isn't about God. Maybe it's about us.

The Prodigal Son is often read to mean that God loves sinners, whereas the Jews thought God only loved the righteous. This makes no sense.

I’ve been thinking about Jacob a good deal lately, so for this week’s Century lectionary column I wrote about Jacob and the angel. But I also rather wanted to write about the Gospel reading, the Unjust Judge parable from Luke.

I wanted to write about the parable because on the surface it is a bit nonsensical.

I used to picture humility as a door I was afraid to open. I never thought of it as an itinerary to holiness.

It has not happened all that often, but on occasions someone has been upset enough with a sermon I've preached to call me up and complain.

Words of judgment are difficult to hear. Actually, I have no trouble hearing how they apply to others. And when the preacher gives a logical explanation of how the law applies to me, I understand it and nod my head in agreement. But it often makes little connection with my heart and even less with the way I live.

Jesus uses this parable to lure us into a trap. Hearing it we cannot help but be thankful we are not like that Pharisee. If we are thankful we are not like him, then we are just like him.