1 Samuel 16:1-13 ~ Psalm 23 ~ Ephesians 5:8-14 ~ John 9:1-41 Read online What you see sometimes depends upon how you’re looking.  The Gospel story revolves around a man born blind.  The prevailing perspective taught that all bad things happen because of someone’s sin.  Simple cause and effect.  Thus, the disciples looked at this man and ask, “who’s sin caused this?”  This line of questioning leads them to see the problem rather than the person—an illustration for a theologica

Exodus 17:1-7 ~ Psalm 95 ~ Romans 5:1-11 ~ John 4:5-42 Read online Three strikes and you’re out!  This is a familiar idea to us.  It’s not just in baseball, but it has influenced repeat offender laws and found its way into all sorts of places.  While this idea wasn’t present in first century Palestine, the woman Jesus meets by the well in the Gospel lesson, has three strikes against her. First, she’s a woman.  The culture was extremely patriarchal and unrelated men & women di

Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 ~ Psalm 32 ~ Romans 5:12-19 ~ Matthew 4:1-11 Read online On the 1st Sunday in Lent, we typically read of Jesus’ temptations. This year, we also read the story of the temptation in the Garden of Eden. Temptation is rooted in wanting something beyond what we have. In Genesis, it’s the temptation to be like God. In the Gospel, it’s food, self-importance, and power.  To be tempted, one must be to some degree dissatisfied. Though we often think of it as bad,

“If your brother or sister sins against you…and if they even refuse to listen to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”  Matthew 18: 15a/17b   The above verses are from one of Jesus’s sermons. It’s all about who and when to forgive.  Many have sadly taken Jesus’ words of treating them as you would a pagan or tax collector to mean boot them out of the church, abandon them, have nothing else to do with them lest their “sin” rub off on us.  If we medita