Week 5 (Year 2, NL)

The scribe’s question to Jesus is not merely an academic exercise.

When my arm is stretched out and blood is trickling out of me, I find myself thinking of Jesus.

What preacher does not like to gnaw a theological bone?

Isaiah’s two challenges go hand in hand.

She was a staunch observer of sabbath. It took her death for me to appreciate why.

My forebears were a little shortsighted with their strict sabbath codes, but they weren’t entirely wrong.

Being religious is not about following rules. It's more like dancing.

"Remember the sabbath" is a costly commandment. Our culture’s assault on it extends far beyond Sunday.

It's easy to love Mr. C. It's not as easy to love Mrs. M., and it’s stone-cold not easy to love that guy down the street.

How can Paul navigate the choppy waters of a pagan environment, with its idols and temples? The obvious place to start is the Shema.

I read this week’s lectionary passages last summer in the Urubamba Valley in my native Peru, and in my native Spanish: “Pero Cristo ya vino, y ahora el es el Sumo sacerdote . . .” At first I resisted the Hebrews passage, as I prefer Jesus’ concrete teachings to more abstract theological concepts. So, while leading a tour group across the Andes, I turned to Mark: “And man must love God with all his heart and with all his mind and with all his strength; and he must love his neighbor as he loves himself.”