Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 Dear Partner in Preaching, There’s something kind of funky going on here. I’d call it sinister except it’s just too incredibly human, and for that reason understandable, to attribute motives to it. But human or not, understandable or not, it can have devastating consequences. And so it’s worth talking about. It’s actually something of a two-step waltz. The first step is to decide what you think God should be (and that is usually something that affirms what we already think, feel, believe and/or have done). The second is to judge all others – and that includes their beliefs about God – by this same...

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...