Tag Archives: grace

Temptation, Treason, and Good News

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When the devil had finished every temptation, he departed from him for a time (Lk 4:13). Technically, the translation should be that Satan departed from Jesus for a more “favorable time.” In other words, it was not a one-and-that’s-it temptation for Jesus. Satan was coming back for another try.  And if Satan was coming back to tempt Jesus, there is no reason to think that our life will be free of temptation.

The historian Shelby Foote tells of a soldier who was wounded at the battle of Shiloh during the American Civil War and was ordered to go to the rear. The fighting was fierce and within minutes he returned to his commanding officer. “Captain, give me a gun!” he shouted. “This fight ain’t got any rear!”  The encounter with temptation is no different. Continue reading →

More than kind

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wedding-canaThe “Wedding at Cana” story comes from the second chapter of John, but allow me to draw your attention to the first chapter. In the beautiful prologue of John’s Gospel, we hear in John 1:14 – “And the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us, and we saw his glory, the glory as of the Father’s only Son, full of grace and truth.” Full of grace and truth. Now, here at Cana Jesus is drawn into the public light for all to begin to see, witness, and understand – that the fullness of grace and truth stands among us, dwelling with us in all the wonders of this life. This is what grace looks like. Continue reading →

Grace and welcoming

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Mark-5-two-miraclesDo you ever get stuck on an image, a word, a moment in time, and continue to return to it – take it into prayer, reflection, and consideration? Sometimes it is a haunting thought – why didn’t I understand, why didn’t I say something, why couldn’t I have helped. Sometimes it is a instinct to find deeper understanding. It can be lots of things. I find that I return to the events of June 17th when good, grace-filled people died at Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston. It was an evening when grace and welcome abounded. Imagine being there at the Bible Study when someone, who looked completely different from you – perhaps triggering their instincts of danger – walks in and joins the study of God’s word. It would have been one thing for Dylan Roof to walk in guns blazing and be done with the terrible deed – but he was welcomed without condition or reservation, sat down, received their peace, and then an hour later unleashed his misguided hate, taking nine lives. Continue reading →

What’s yours is yours…

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Talents4“To one he gave five talents; to another, two; to a third, one – each according to his abilities.”

Let me paraphrase the opening of our gospel to make a point or two. “A man going on a journey call in his servants and handed over to them his possessions. To one he gave five pounds of $1,000 bills. To another, two pounds of $1,000 bills, and to a third, one pound of $1,000 bills – to each according to their gifts, talents and abilities – he did not give one them more than he or she could handle.” Continue reading →

Yoked to Christ

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This coming Sunday – the 14th Sunday of Ordinary Time – uses Matthew 11:25-30 which includes 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart; and you will find rest for your selves. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”  Because our parish is having a six-week course in church history, focusing of the Reformations, someone asked me today how this gospel speaks to predestination. It is not an easy question to address as it touches on one’s understanding of predestination, justification, sanctification, grace, free will, and more.

As it happens, the Church History “course” is coming up to the section on the Swiss Reformers wherein the topic “predestination” is raised by John Calvin and later reformers. I had prepared a primer – and I do mean a primer – on predestination as being discussed in the 16th century:  Predestination, Election, Grace and Free Will. Here is the link in case it is of interest to you.