Luke 13:31-35 Dear Partner in Preaching, Have you ever noticed just how long it takes Jesus to get to Jerusalem? Just after the Transfiguration – two Sundays and four chapters ago – Luke records that Jesus “set his face to go to Jerusalem” (9:51) and then repeats that phrase shortly thereafter (v53). This phrase – more declaration than description – is clearly a turning point in Luke’s story. After going here and there and nearly everywhere in Galilee and beyond, Jesus now makes a beeline for the Jerusalem and the cross. But… But what I’m not sure I ever quite noticed before is that Jesus doesn’t actually get to...

Dear Partner in Preaching, It really doesn’t have to be bread, power, or safety. Temptations, I mean. In today’s reading the devil tries to seduce Jesus with the promise of bread when he’s hungry, the glory and power of all the world’s leaders, and the promise of rescue paired with the suggestion that God is not sufficient to keep Jesus safe. And all Jesus has to do in return is worship Satan. So in this scene, it’s bread, power, and safety. But it could be something else. Which is the key to preaching this story, I think. Because the point isn’t the specific temptations, but rather the underlying nature of temptation itself. In...

Luke 9:28-36 Dear Partner in Preaching, Just a few exegetical thoughts about this familiar, and somewhat confounding, story. But first, why confounding? I think because it’s just odd enough (with the appearance of OT heroes), just strange enough (with Jesus all shimmery and shiny), and named with a word we rarely use, to leave us as confused as Peter, James, and John were. Further, it’s an odd placeholder and bridge between Jesus’ baptism (noting how similar are the words from the voice from heaven here and to Jesus at the River Jordan [3:22]) and Jesus’ resurrection (noting this time the similarity between the description...

Luke 6:27-38 Dear Partner in Preaching, It occurred to me when reading this familiar passage how easy it is to dismiss Jesus’ words. We might dismiss it by assuming Jesus is setting up an impossible command, forcing us to admit our need, sin, brokenness (or however you choose to define it) and driving us to the good news of Jesus’ promise of forgiveness and grace. (I’ll admit I think of this as the Lutheran option.) Or we might dismiss it as the naïve instructions of a dreamer, someone who’s head was always in the clouds, someone who clearly didn’t understand how the world really works. (I think of this as the cynical...

Luke 6:17-26 Dear Partner in Preaching, It’s late in the week and so I will share just a few thoughts on this week’s pericope. Actually, just one: “with.” It may be one of the most important words in this passage and, indeed, the English language (and, for that matter, Greek and all others languages to boot). Why? Because “with” connects. It joins. It adds. And by connecting, joining, and adding it creates something new. Moreover, it is incredibly relational. “Do you want to go with me?” is one of those invitations, for instance, that few of us forget when a new friend makes it. And so while I’ve read this...

Luke 5:1-11 Dear Partner in Preaching, When I taught preaching, one of the most frequent words of counsel I would give students was just this: hug the details. Pay attention to what sticks out to you in the biblical narrative. Notice what grabs your attention. And, in particular, focus on those elements of the story that you just plain love or find absolutely vexing. Because at those places of great joy and challenge you’ll most often find your sermon. That was easy advice to follow this week, as I absolutely love this story, and there are a lot of details that bring me joy. So I thought I would simply share some of those,...

Luke 4:14-30 Dear Partner in Preaching, Okay, I actually started this Sunday evening and it’s coming through in drips and drabs. That tells me, among other things, it will be a little longer than usual. 🙂 So maybe diving it up a bit will help. First, when working with this passage three years ago, I referenced Robert Frost’s poem “Mending Wall.” At the time, the poet’s confession, “Something there is that doesn’t love a wall,” helped me give voice to what I heard as Jesus’ proclamation that God has come to save all, even those we fear or despise, and that, in order to extend God’s love to all, God will not...

Luke 4:14-21 Dear Partner in Preaching, This week’s passage is only part-one in a two-part drama or, really, tragedy. The larger story presages the Passion, I think, as the crowds who are first so impressed by, and excited to hear, Jesus preach (this week), quickly turn on him and threaten to throw him off a cliff (next week). Chapters later, crowds will welcome him with equal measures of acclamation, admiration, and anticipation when Jesus enters Jerusalem, only to call for his execution days later. Which makes it a bit hard to preach this week’s story, as we know it’s only the first half of a larger narrative and that the...

Dear Partner in Preaching, Another wonderful week in the parish has left me with little time to write, so I will repost the piece I wrote 3 years ago. Given all the acrimony and accusation that colors our political discourse, increasingly free-floating anxiety fueled by very real concerns about the economy and environment (among other things), and a generally bleak news cycle, perhaps it will still be helpful, as I think that at this moment in particular it’s easy to forget that grace abounds, often in unlikely places, and that witnessing to it and sharing it with others still has the ability to transform lives. Blessings on your...

Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Dear Partner in Preaching, You may remember from a New Testament class in seminary that Jesus’ baptism – which we typically take for granted as part of the biblical story and, for that matter, the church year – was actually quite scandalous. You can appreciate the logic. If baptism is for the remission of sin… and we confess Jesus was sinless… then why was Jesus baptized? Or, worse, are we contradicting ourselves: is baptism not about forgiveness, or was Jesus not sinless? That ambivalence, combined with a similar ambivalence about the character of John the Baptist (he also had disciples and was a...