Tag: Parables
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The rich man’s folly—and ours
A sermon for the Eighth Sunday after Pentecost, Year C (Proper 13: Hosea 11:1-11; Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21) ** As some of you know, my day job is as an educational media producer and researcher. My main interest has always been in how people make meaning of and with various kinds of…
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The parable of the landowner’s wise restraint
Image credit: “Running” by Mackenzie Black via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) Seventh Sunday after Pentecost: Genesis 28:10-19a; Psalm 139: 1-11, 22-23; Romans 8:12-25; Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 I’ve been traveling for work the last the couple weeks, first in the Midwest and then in Germany. But at the beginning of the trip I got to spend a day…
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You are the salt of the earth
Fifth Sunday after Epiphany: Isaiah 58:1-9a, [9b-12]; Psalm 112:1-9 [10]; 1 Corinthians 2:1-12, [13-16]; Matthew 5:13-20 I can still remember the angriest I ever got in seminary. It started, I am not surprised to notice upon reflection, with me sticking my nose into someone else’s business. Two of my international student classmates were having a heated conversation…
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A Parable of Grit, and Hope
A sermon for Proper 24: Jeremiah 31:27-34; Psalm 119:97-104; 2 Timothy 3:14-4:5; Luke 18:1-8 A friend and I play a sort of ongoing game of long-distance tag. We’re both interested in character formation, and we’re enchanted by one idea that is currently en vogue. Researchers call it grit. Our obsession with popular discussions of grit has gotten a…
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Pilgrim Virtues
Proper 20, Year C (Amos 8:4-7; Psalm 113; 1 Timothy 2:1-7; Luke 16:1-13) Image source: Ahron de Leeuw via Flickr (CC BY 2.0) PDF | Audio (soon, or via Dropbox) | Text: Let me start by saying that I’m as confused by our Gospel passage today as you might be. A manager “squanders” the resources he’s been entrusted…