26th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, RCL)

Jesus in conversation with three women in the Gospels

Let me cut to the chase, brothers and sisters. Is this what you think living in Christ looks like?

What heals me may harm another.

A means of grace from the world of human services

God is calling us out.

Love has come into the world and is walking even now.

“One second-century pagan critic of Christianity was willing to tolerate everything else about Christians if they would only worship the gods.”

Isaiah 50:4-9a; Matthew 26:14–27:66; Philippians 2:5–11

In her most recent book, Blessed Are the Consumers, Sallie McFague focuses on kenosis as the key element in shaping a Christian alternative to the pervasive religion of consumerism. McFague says that consumerism consists of those cultural patterns and practices by which people “find meaning and fulfillment through the consumption of goods and services.” We may rightly identify consumerism as a religion.

Like Willimon and Hauerwas, Donald MacKinnon began with Philippians 2.

I begin sermon preparation by reading through the texts and writing a 200-word summary of the themes I observe in that initial reading. I include this summary in an online publication for the congregation I serve. It's called "Sunday is Coming," a title with an edge for the preacher.

When I do this reading I I look for trouble—for the obvious, palpable problems in the text.

Ezekiel steps right into the middle of a group of people busy at that most ancient of activities, going back to Eden: the blame game.

Bart Ehrman's conclusions aren't novel to anyone familiar with historical scholarship on Christology. But those aren't the readers he has in mind.