Articles
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15 mins read|03/31/19
The Law and the Already Terrified Conscience
Where contrition is evident, the conscience has already been prodded, piqued, finally terrified. More Law only serves to confirm the lie this person is already at risk of believing: that the last work of the conscience is also God’s last word. But God’s last word is the word of absolution, not the confirmation of the conscience’s testimony, but now its contradiction. -
12 mins read|03/24/19
Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-13 (Lent 4: Series C)
The Parable of the Prodigal Son is a familiar story. This creates a challenge for the preacher. -
11 mins read|03/17/19
Gospel: Luke 13:1-9 (Lent 3: Series C)
We’re tempted to try and connect the dots. Something bad happens to someone and we can’t help but wonder about the cause. Even if we don’t say it out loud, we are tempted to think they must have done something to deserve it. They must be guilty of something. God must be punishing them for something we don’t know about. But Jesus stops this thinking in its tracks. -
10 mins read|03/10/19
Gospel: Luke 13:31-35 (Lent 2: Series C)
I don’t think the people of Jerusalem designed to reject God. They didn’t wake up one day and decide that, instead of listening to God, they would make it their mission to kill him. They were deceived. Blinded. Deluded by sin and its author. As a result, they were unable and unwilling to hear the Word of the Lord. -
9 mins read|03/03/19
Gospel: Luke 4:1-13 (Lent 1: Series C)
There are two ways to think about what’s happening when someone is tempted. The first is to imagine temptation as enticement toward something bad and wrong. This is probably the more common of the two. But there’s another way of thinking about it. Temptation could also be seen as encouragement away from something good and right. -
10 mins read|02/24/19
Gospel: Luke 9:28-36 (Trasfiguration: Series C)
You’re not normally an eaves-dropper, and you don’t make it a habit of sticking your nose in other people’s business. But some conversations beg to be overheard. Transfiguration is like that.
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