Dear Partner in Preaching, I have to confess I’ve always had a certain bias against this parable. Actually, not the parable as much as the interpretation. You probably know the generally accepted theory of the history of composition behind today’s passage. Since Joachim Jeremias published his seminal The Parables of Jesus, biblical scholars have pointed out the shift in emphasis from the parable proper and its explanation nine verses later. The parable is all about the extravagance of the sower, the farmer foolish enough to throw seed anywhere and everywhere, even on paths and patches of stony ground. The explanation, however, shifts...
Matthew 9:35-38
posted by DJL
Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and curing every disease and every sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a...
Church and the World Cup 3: Joy
posted by DJL
3. The Power of Joy The World Cup is about competition, and it is about national pride, and it about team effort and heart, and it is about many other things as well. But when I watch carefully, I’m also struck to the degree that it is about joy. There is a kind of rapturous abandon that you see displayed on the faces of players from time to time – especially after a player has scored a goal 🙂 – that reminds me of the delight expressed by children at play. Which leads me to think that beyond the thrill of competition or the pride of representing your country rests the pure joy of doing something you love with people you respect and...
Matthew 9:32-34
posted by DJL
After they had gone away, a demoniac who was mute was brought to him. And when the demon had been cast out, the one who had been mute spoke; and the crowds were amazed and said, “Never has anything like this been seen in Israel.” But the Pharisees said, “By the ruler of the demons he...
Who Will You Be In 10 Years?
posted by DJL
Who will you be in 10 years? If you’re like most people, you’ll probably immediately answer that you’ll be pretty much the same, just a little older and (hopefully!) wiser. But according to psychologist Dan Gilbert, author of the wonderful Stumbling on Happiness, you’ll actually be a far different person that you imagine. Why? Because we live with the convenient and helpful myth that the person we are today is our “true” self, the self toward which everything up to now has been pointing. It’s a convenient myth in that it doesn’t take much effort to maintain and doesn’t require us to anticipate changing all that much, and...
Matthew 9:27-31
posted by DJL
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” When he entered the house, the blind men came to him; and Jesus said to them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” They said to him, “Yes, Lord.” Then he touched their...
Church and World Cup 2: Stories
posted by DJL
It’s All About the Story You Tell Wayne Rooney is a striker (forward, goal-scorer) on England’s national team. When he’s not playing for Queen and country, he plays for Manchester United. In that capacity, at age 28 he’s scored 216 goals, making him the third-highest goal-scorer in the history of that storied team. He’s led MU to five championships in England’s Premier League, arguably one of the top leagues in the world, and one title in the EUFA Champions League, where the top teams from all the various continental leagues compete. At age 17 he made his debut on England’s national team, making him the youngest player to don...
Matthew 9:23-26
posted by DJL
When Jesus came to the leader’s house and saw the flute-players and the crowd making a commotion, he said, “Go away; for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl got up. And the...
Pentecost 4 A: Understood, Accepted, and Loved
posted by DJL
Introductory Note: A week ago I was informed by email that Luther Seminary has determined that the column I started five years ago, Dear Working Preacher, can only be written by a member of Luther’s faculty and so I was asked to draw my involvement to a close. I did that last week. Over the course of the years I wrote my weekly letter, connecting with preachers and inviting them to share in the road of experimentation and discovery I have been on has become a central part of my own vocation as a preacher and teacher. And so I will continue writing these weekly letters of encouragement and post them here. I hope they are helpful. While...
For the Fallen
posted by DJL
One hundred years ago today, Austria’s Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated while visiting Sarajevo by a nineteen year-old Gavrilo Princip, a member of the nationalist group Young Bosnia. I found two relatively unknown aspects of that day intriguing. First, while the assassination had...
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