Tag: <span>preaching</span>

Published January 23, 2022

Staggering Love (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)

Summary: The Apostle Paul is in the middle of an extended discussion about spiritual gifts when he breaks stride to explain the importance of love. It isn’t just that love is an amazing force for good; love is permanent. Love does not energize spiritual gifts; love is the point of all the spiritual gifts. That’s a critical thing for preachers to remember, since preachers as much as anyone else have a responsibility to exercise and build their gifts. They also need to devote themselves to love and urge others to love. Nothing else matters. This is a vital message, too, for people doing ministry during a pandemic in a divided and frustrated society, when loving others is much more difficult than it sounds. Fortunately love never falters.

I wrote this article for those preparing to preach or hear sermons on 1 Corinthians 13:1-13. It was originally a contribution to the “Dear Working Preacher” series. Read the full article at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

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Published November 21, 2021

What Are You Waiting For? (John 18:33-37)

Summary: The conclusion of the church year, Reign of Christ (or Christ the King) Sunday presents preachers with an opportunity to reflect on the future, especially to examine what assumptions about the future influence their own theologies and sermons. The scene in John’s Gospel when Pontius Pilate interrogates Jesus manifests the failure of Pilate’s imagination. He cannot understand Jesus’ identity as a king in a manner other than what he is used to; it must be about power and domination. Pilate’s categories are inflexible. This resembles too much Christian preaching and teaching about the future and about the nature of the gospel. A kingdom or reign that is “not from this world” is one that is unfamiliar to this world and our norms. One piece of a preacher’s job description is to break open our closed minds so that we might imagine and live into a future that is indeed different.

I wrote this article for those preparing to preach or hear sermons on John 18:33-37. It was originally a contribution to the “Dear Working Preacher” series. Read the full article at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

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Published October 9, 2021

The Story of the Rich Man Is… A Gift to Preachers? (Mark 10:17-31)

Summary: It’s a difficult passage to read and to preach, this story of a rich man’s’ encounter with Jesus. Consistent with much of Mark’s portrait of discipleship, it speaks about extraordinary self-giving. At the same time, it is an unusual text, with Jesus making discipleship look close to impossible. To preach a passage like this, a preacher does well to consider their role and the sermon’s goals. As for the role, a preacher should approach this text as a co-traveler alongside the congregation. As for the sermon’s goals, it’s best to find creative ways to translate the passage’s discussion of radical solidarity with the poor into contemporary terms. That is not to diminish the passage’s demands; it is to help us think about how much we need each other to walk the road of discipleship together.

I wrote this article for those preparing to preach or hear sermons on Mark 10:17-31. It was originally a contribution to the “Dear Working Preacher” series. Read the full article at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

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Published August 24, 2021

Public Health (Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23)

Summary: When a conversation between Jesus and a group of scribes and Pharisees moves from hand washing to the dangers of moral impurity, preachers have an opportunity to explore the capacity each of us has for doing harm to others. During our current journey with the Covid-19 pandemic, we are already well acquainted with the ways in which the actions or inactions of individuals can have widespread negative consequences. But preachers can find ways to put this Gospel text into conversation with our circumstances to help a congregation see the ways in which our existence and wellbeing are corporate, collective things. Facing the realities of our interdependence and the obligations we have to one another is an important step toward fostering a community that takes healing seriously.

I wrote this article for those preparing to preach or hear sermons on Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23. It was originally a contribution to the “Dear Working Preacher” series. Read the full article at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

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Published July 11, 2021

Leadership That Liberates (Mark 6:30-34, 53-56)

Summary: As it begins a story about Jesus feeding a crowd isolated in the wilderness, the Gospel according to Mark comments that Jesus felt compassion for the people because he saw them as “sheep without a shepherd.” They were people denied leadership. People who were considered expendable. People who could be manipulated for the gain and pride of their so-called leaders. Bad leadership has a way of dehumanizing people, because bad leaders choose domination and intimidation as their tools. The wider context of this part of Mark’s narrative, with its focus on numbers of people attracted to Jesus, reminds us that Jesus was not the kind of leader who imposed his will on others or who sought out followers. His qualifications were not about displaying his gifts, flashing his charisma, or manifesting courage; rather, he restored people. He demonstrated a commitment to their well-being and wholeness. Preachers might be inspired by this story to consider their own vocations as leaders. Sermons are opportunities to put leadership into action, not with the preacher insisting on their own authority or cleverness, but with the preacher offering the refreshment of the good news and reiterating the opportunity for all to share in God’s healing, restorative intentions for this work and its people.

I wrote this article for those preparing to preach or hear sermons on Mark 6:30-34, 53-56. It was originally a contribution to the “Dear Working Preacher” series. Read the full article at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers

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Published April 27, 2021

Commentary on Acts 8:26-40

Summary: The story of Philip’s encounter with an unnamed court official, an Ethiopian Eunuch, raises numerous questions about ancient culture, Greco-Roman attitudes toward people from far away, sex and gender, and the differences in people’s social locations. It’s important that preachers and other interpreters tend to those questions, so they can both appreciate and be critical of the ways in which the book of Acts imagines the consequences that the good news has for all people. This story and the ambiguity surrounding the characterization of the court official can serve as a reminder of the ways that Christian communities struggle to identify and include people who are strangers or “outsiders.” It’s notable to remember, then, that at the close of the story the Ethiopian is not merely a convert, he is also a theologian who demonstrates his understanding that the good news is for him, as he is.

I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preagcher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

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Published April 20, 2021

Shepherding (John 10:11-18)

Summary: Jesus describes himself as the good shepherd, not because he is kind or gentle, but because he is powerful, vigilant, and self-giving. That comforting metaphor works because Jesus has ascended or, as John’s Gospel puts it, he has returned to the loving and intimate communion he shares with the God he calls his Father. His watchful care is a feature of his power. The care he provides does not mean we are kept safe from all harm in this dangerous world. Rather, it means that we can be confident that he holds our identity, our connection to him, and our participation in Divine love securely. The watchfulness and concern he provides comes as a sharp contrast to the ways our leaders, structures, and societies frequently let us down and treat people as expendable.

I wrote this article for those preparing to preach or hear sermons on John 10:11-18. It was originally a contribution to the “Dear Working Preacher” series. Read the full article at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

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Published March 7, 2021

Love among the Ruins (John 3:14-21)

Summary: Believing in God’s love is much easier than trusting in it. Trust implies action and a willingness to open ourselves up. It has become increasingly difficult to trust in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and God’s love appears not to have motivated the most of our wider society to imitate it. To embrace a passage like the one in which Jesus insists that he has come because “God so loved the world,” we need to do more than just convince ourselves and our neighbors about God’s love and its benefits. We need to open ourselves up to the magnetic power of that love, something we experience less through intellect and more through desire.

I wrote this article for those preparing to preach or hear sermons on John 3:14-21. It was originally a contribution to the “Dear Working Preacher” series. Read the full article at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

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Published December 18, 2020

Christmas Every Sunday (Titus 2:11-14 and Luke 2:1-20)

Summary: “The preaching of the word of God is the word of God.” If that old confession is correct, then Incarnation isn’t merely a past event or lifetime that we commemorate when Christmas rolls around. Incarnation continues to happen when preachers make Jesus Christ and the good news about him known. The Christmas story is a story of love, familiarity, companionship, and solidarity. It is a story that comes to us and that we experience through our humanity. In that way, Christmas and the mystery of Incarnation put the work of preaching into perspective, reminding us how important it is, whether in word or deed.

I wrote this article for those preparing to preach or hear sermons on Titus 2:11-14 and/or Luke 2:1-20 on Christmas Eve. It was originally a contribution to the “Dear Working Preacher” series. Read the full article at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

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Published November 15, 2020

The Stakes Are High (Matthew 25:14-30)

Summary: The story Jesus tells about a person who entrusts “talents” (huge sums of money) to others often makes preachers and congregations uncomfortable. That’s precisely the point. The parable uses hyperbole to make two points: (1) to describe the incredible influence that Jesus’ followers possess as they live out their charge to continue the work that Jesus began; and (2) to name how critical the work of the good news is during a time when people suffer from oppression and lazy, self-congratulatory religion. In the wake of a divisive and angry election season and during a season when churches and their people are sacrificing their credibility, this parable reminds readers that the blessings Jesus intends to offer the world must not be hidden away.

I wrote this article for those preparing to preach or hear sermons on Matthew 25:14-30. It was originally a contribution to the “Dear Working Preacher” series. Read the full article at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

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