Category: <span>Bible commentary: general audience</span>

Published May 31, 2021

Stick Around (Mark 3:20-35)

Summary: Once Jesus’ ministry is rolling in the Gospel according to Mark, conflict emerges and dividing lines are drawn. Mark has a way with surprises; Jesus’ own family and religious authorities misunderstand who he is and what he is up to. But crowds of unnamed people remain with him, often doing little more than showing up and following. Jesus appears to welcome their presence, as seen in this scene when he describes a crowd as his true kin and commends them for doing “the will of God.” It appears Jesus is not calling for heroism or perfection. Rather, he seeks recognition. Down the road in Mark he will remind us that discipleship calls for our whole selves. But at this point in the story, being present and sticking around is what he’s looking for. This is good news for all of us, reminding us that faith is not so much about subscribing to doctrine and more about attaching oneself to Jesus and his efforts to bring the reign of God to fruition.

I wrote this article for those preparing to preach or hear sermons on Mark 3:20-35. It was originally a contribution to the “Dear Working Preacher” series. Read the full article at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: general audience

discipleship family following gospel of mark inclusion insiders jesus kingdom of god scribes will of God

Published May 24, 2021

At the threshold…

Summary: Questions about the past have a way of propelling me forward. At least that’s what I experienced once on a visit to Caesarea Maritima as I stared toward the sun sinking down toward the vast Mediterranean Sea. Knowing how we got somewhere is one thing; where we will go next is not so different a question. The vocations we chase after never end; nor do our attempts to make sense of them and their effects on our lives. I think this is one way that faith works and continues to disrupt and comfort our lives, by giving us the nudge to keep journeying and to keep our sights set on a future that exists–out there, yet to be discovered.

I wrote this meditative article for the publication Thin Places, which offers resources for spiritual growth and is published by Westminster Presbyterian Church of Minneapolis. The article appears in the June/July/August 2021 issue (Issue Number 107). Read the full article at Thin Places.

Bible commentary: general audience

apostle paul book of acts Caesarea Maritima contemplation future meditation mediterranean sea memory vocation

Published August 19, 2020

Psalm 126: Dreams of Restoration, in Every Sense

Summary: Psalm 126 originally spoke of the cultural and geographical restoration experienced (or expected) by those who had returned home from a prolonged exile. It delights the senses with its images of refreshment and sustenance. It reminds us that dreaming can offer a way into knowing who we are, why we suffer, and what we want for our future. The short and colorful psalm gives us language to use when imagining the kinds of restoration we long for as we move forward in the confidence that God is committed to our well-being and in the hope that the future must be greater and more just than the past.

I wrote this article for PsalmSeason, a project led by Hebrew College’s Miller Center for Interreligious Learning and Leadership and Interfaith Youth Core. PsalmSeason is an 18-week exploration of 18 Psalms conducted by a diverse and multifaith group of religious leaders, cultural critics, musicians, poets, artists, and activists. Read the full article at PsalmSeason.

Bible commentary: general audience

covid-19 dreams exile future harvest psalms restoration water

Published March 9, 2017

Letter 49 — American Values Religious Voices

Summary: Numerous biblical stories describe apparent “outsiders” who have clear vision and insight. Because of those people, the supposed “insiders” gain a new, better, or enlarged perspective on the values and virtues they hold dear. Such stories can also remind a nation that an insular approach to the wider world and cultures is liable to degrade our most cherished values.

Read the full document, which is part of the American Values Religious Voices letter-writing project, here.

Bible commentary: general audience

Amos Ethiopian eunuch generosity hospitality humility outsiders Rahab Rhoda syrophoenician woman

Published March 8, 2017

Reflections on the Executive Order of March 6, 2017

Summary: Images of exile and displacement are key aspects of the New Testament’s ways of describing Christian faith. There is a tragic irony at work, then, when Christians lend their support to policies that discredit and reject refugees.

Read the full post, which is part of a collection of reflections by a variety of authors involved in the ON Scripture–The Bible project, here.

Bible commentary: general audience

displacement exiles new testament refugees

Published October 10, 2016

No Justice, No Peace (Luke 18:1-8)

Summary: When Jesus tells a parable about a widow who engages in a tireless campaign to get the justice she deserves, he offers an illustration of Christian faith. In the parable, the woman continually beseeches an unjust judge who finally grants her requests because he grows tired of her endless appeals. The parable associates Christian faith with an unflagging commitment to see justice become a reality. Christian faith complains about injustice and advocates for those who need justice. Faith does so because it takes God’s promises seriously, believing that God is indeed a God of justice. This depiction of faithful advocacy is especially important to consider during election season. Christians can advocate for candidates who will create just laws and policies, but Christians also equip themselves to persist in advocacy after elections are complete.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on Day1 and Patheos.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible

advocacy church and politics election faith gospel of luke jesus luke 18:1-8 parable persistent widow unjust judge

Published August 16, 2016

Why We Can’t Wait (Luke 13:10-17)

Summary: When Jesus heals a woman’s debilitating and oppressive spinal condition on the sabbath, his action draws a rebuke. His sharp retort to his critics implies that his action was totally appropriate, since honoring the sabbath entails reiterating God’s commitment to freedom from oppression. The theological logic that drives this passage and justifies Jesus’ urgent concern for the anonymous woman’s well-being resonates with what Martin Luther King Jr. argues in his famous book Why We Can’t Wait. Well-meaning religious people seem to have a habit of impeding God’s commitment to justice and liberation. Our problem goes beyond ignorance or a lack of compassion. Sometimes our theology, security, and idealism are to blame. We need to rediscover the priorities to which God is committed, such as delivering people from suffering.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on Day1 and Patheos.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible

bent woman gospel of luke healing jesus luke 13:10-17 martin luther king sabbath suffering

Published May 3, 2016

Exposing a Government’s Abuse of Power, and Other Life Hacks (Acts 16:16-40)

Summary: The book of Acts tells a story about two traveling evangelists, Paul and Silas, as they encounter severe resistance in Philippi, a Roman colony. After the pair are dubiously accused, savagely beaten, and shamefully incarcerated, an earthquake miraculously frees them from their chains and cells. What might look like a story of supernaturally aided escape is really a story about vindication, a means of God exposing the futility of Roman attempts to obstruct the preaching of the gospel. The whole scene has a burlesque quality to it, for its aim is to expose the powerlessness and peevishness of an imperial culture that sets itself up to resist God’s presence, with violence if necessary. The passage speaks about more than ancient Roman realities, however, for its portrait of imperial abuses looks uncomfortably similar to the ways in which modern societies protect their interests and prerogatives. In the end, the story suggests that God offers a different reality, one beyond our ways of suppressing outsiders and clinging desperately onto our attempts at self-preservation.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on The Huffington Post, Day1, and Patheos.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible

acts 16:16-40 acts of the apostles book of acts empire paul philippi prison escape silas

Published March 28, 2016

The Value and Limits of Religious Liberty (Acts 5:27-32)

Summary: According to the book of Acts, when the temple-based authorities in Jerusalem command Peter and his associates to stop preaching and teaching about Jesus in public, the apostles refuse. With a pithy reply, “We must obey God rather than any human authority,” they declare their intention to honor their spiritual convictions no matter what consequences may result. The apostles’ heroic and bold resolve stands in a long tradition in which people have pondered when it is right to insist on honoring one’s conscience in the face of political and legal pressure to do otherwise. Given the contours of the current cultural discourse in America, when many are quick to demand laws and concessions that respect their “religious liberty,” this episode from Acts and the travails of other Christians who have paid a price for resisting tyranny remind us how we should conceive of “religious liberty” in the first place. Such liberty in a civil society should not become a license to do whatever one wants or a legal basis to deny rights and hospitality to others. Rather, it is a free determination to do what’s necessary to promote our neighbors’ well-being, even if those actions invite uncomfortable repercussions.

Read the full article, which is part of the ON Scripture–The Bible project, on Day1 and Patheos.

Bible commentary: general audience ON Scripture--The Bible

acts 5:27-32 apostle peter book of acts easter persecution religious liberty

Published January 12, 2016

Sensing the Gospel: A Five-Part Series of Meditations for Lent

Summary: Lent provides opportunities to reflect on our experience of encountering God and God’s salvation in embodied ways — in our bodies’ abilities to perceive familiar realities and to interpret new ones. I prepared a five-part series that invites us to think about Jesus’ ability to make God known in tangible, sensory ways. The series explores selected biblical passages that permit us to reflect on who we are and how we bear witness to the gospel — not so Lent causes us to denigrate this life, but so we learn to encounter God among us and to know Christ through our bodies.

I wrote this series to spark the creativity of those who are preparing to preach or teach during Lent, although individuals might also use it for devotional purposes. Read it at Working Preacher.

Bible commentary: general audience Bible commentary: preachers & teachers workingpreacher.org commentary

1 john 1:1 bodies five senses jesus john 12:1-3 john 2:1-10 john 5:25-29 lent luke 7:11-15 mark 8:22-25 salvation