Luke 19:1-10 Dear Partner in Preaching, Many of you may be preaching this Sunday as Reformation Sunday. Others will preach it as the 24th Sunday after Pentecost. Whichever “day” you may be observing, I’d like to suggest there is a common theme worth holding up, and that is that the God we encounter in Jesus is not the God we expect – and that’s a good thing! I’ll start with the Zacchaeus story appointed for Pentecost 24. I have long felt that we misinterpret this story as a repentance story. That is, we read the events as follows: Jesus seeks out Zacchaeus, a notorious chief tax collector; Zacchaeus, overwhelmed by the...

Luke 18:9-14 Dear Partner in Preaching, What sets the two men described in today’s reading apart? There are a variety of ways of answering this question. On the surface, we might observe that one of them is part of the religious establishment while the other is an outsider. Or we might notice that one is law-abiding while the other is not. (And here it’s important to acknowledge that the Pharisee isn’t boasting so much as he is simply describing accurately that he has done those things the law prescribes as proper.) Going a little deeper, we might similarly recognize that one prays from a sense of confidence while the other from...

Luke 18:1-8 Dear Partner in Preaching, So what is this parable about? I realize this isn’t the first time we’ve asked this question this fall, but I find this to be yet another rather vexing little story. In part, that’s because the “parable proper” seems to end one way, promising that God will indeed grant justice quickly to those who call out for it, while Luke introduces the story with another interpretive slant altogether, encouraging Jesus’ followers to pray always and not lose heart. Then again, perhaps the interpretive key falls right in the middle, as we are encouraged to beseech God day and night for justice and, indeed,...

Luke 17:11-19 Dear Partner in Preaching, “I’m grateful.” That was the regular response of a colleague and friend of mine of a few years past to my casual question, “How are you?” It took me by surprise. Not just the first or second time, but almost every time. Eventually, of course, I wasn’t so much surprised, as I was struck by the simplicity and power of this statement. It wasn’t the answer I expected. Indeed, we usually expect little more than “fine” or “pretty good” or maybe once and a while “great” when we ask this conversational placeholder, “How are you?” “I’m grateful.” My colleague chose her words...