Luke 16:1-13 Dear Partner in Preaching, So what do you think: is it ever okay to tell the congregation that you really have no idea what a passage means? I know, I know, that may be hard to do, as we are, after all, supposed to be the experts in this kind of thing. Moreover, it might be a tad scandalous for some, as they have a pretty high confidence in your ability to help them understand the Scriptures. At the same time, though, it might also be comforting, as when they scratch their heads in perplexity at a passage like this one, they now know they’re not alone. It’s not that they’re not smart enough or lack training, it’s that...

Luke 15:1-10 Dear Partner in Preaching, I apologize for the late post. It’s been one of those weeks! So here’s what I’ve got. Actually, two things. First, this story is about joy. We understandably focus on issues of being lost, of being found, of the Pharisees and scribes displeasure, of avoiding judgment, and so forth. But what we often miss is the common denominator of both these stories is joy. “Just so, there will be more joy in heaven….” Repeat twice. And here’s the thing: I get that. Shortly after we’d moved to Minnesota, I took my then four year-old son out to the Mall of America, an enclosed shopping center so large...

Luke 14:25-33 Dear Partner in Preaching, There are sacrifices and then there are sacrifices. At least that’s what struck me when I read Jesus’ familiar words about taking up the cross. We tend to associate Jesus’ talk of the cross with sacrifice. And understandably so, considering that he is on the way to Jerusalem to make the ultimate sacrifice of his life on the cross to demonstrate God’s love for us (to demonstrate God’s love, not to make God loving!). And we assume – accurately, I’d argue – that his talk of “taking up the cross” implies sacrifices on the part of those who identify as his disciples, whether of selling...

  Luke 14:1, 7-14 Dear Partner in Preaching, I think it’s rather difficult for most of us to imagine the reaction Jesus’ words would have elicited. To us, this seems like rather humdrum polite advice. (Not that we’d necessarily take it, mind you, but it probably wouldn’t give offense.) But to Jesus’ first-century hearers, living in an honor-shame culture that was intensely sensitive to issues of status and recognition, it would have seemed rather remarkable, and ultimately offensive. I say “ultimately” because the problem Jesus names was acute. There were few things that would be more humiliating than to have a host ask...

Luke 13:10-17 Dear Partner in Preaching, Because I am an avid fan of the Olympics, I have been regularly staying up way too late to watch the struggles and victories of the athletes gathered in Rio. And while doing so I have been hearing a lot of “dream” talk. Michael Phelps described his recovery, comeback, and remarkable set of accomplishments in the pool this past week as a dream come true. Simon Biles, perhaps the greatest gymnast of all time, also talked about living out a dream, as did Simone Manuel, the first US African American to win a gold medal in swimming. Katie Ladecky, Kristin Armstrong, Ryan Murphy, Usain Bolt and so many...

Luke 12:49-56 Dear Partner in Preaching, What does it cost us to go to Church? I’ve been wondering of late what our people would say if we asked them that. A free Sunday morning? A chance to sleep in? The ten or twenty bucks they put in the offering plate? Odds are, if we stop to think of it, it costs us very little to be a Christian today, as even in an increasingly “post-Christian” culture, going to church, if no longer quite the norm, at least occasions little comment. Not so, of course, in Jesus’ day. As Jesus indicates in this complicated and, if truth-be-told, somewhat off-putting passage, those who followed him were regularly...