Mark 1:29-39 Dear Partner in Preaching, True confessions: I have no idea whether this will help with your Sunday sermon this week, but… this is what I found most interesting, and I do think it bears on our common calling as pastors and preachers. First off… who knew Peter was married? Well, maybe you and I did, but I’m guessing that just about nobody in the congregation you’ll preach for this Sunday knew that Peter has a mother-in-law which, by implication, means he was married. J  Why does this matter? I kind of think most of our folks – and, truth be told, most of us – tend to think of the disciples as,...

Dear Partner in Preaching, This “epilogue” to John’s dramatic and symbolic Gospel, while perhaps not part of the “original” Gospel, nevertheless does not disappoint. Indeed, it provides a clue not only to the questions and fate of this early Christian community but sheds light on key elements of our life as disciples today. Scholars have posited a variety of reasons for this additional chapter: questions about the fate of the “beloved disciple,” the need to rehabilitate Peter as the Johannine community moved closer to other communities more familiar with Peter’s significant role in the early church, the need to “position”...