“In some traditions silver is the colour of reflection. The silver coins invite us to further reflection. We might be able to notice a missing person, or something like that. But, can we see the things missing from our interior lives?”
“It’s not about hating your family. It’s about letting go of what is most precious to you. Maybe it’s not your family. Maybe it’s something else. Still, let it go. That’s what this passage says. Doing that will be painful. There are no guarantees. Yet, the message is clear: The cost of discipleship is simple. The cost is everything.”
“If you are looking to be strong, powerful, the kind of person everyone pays attention to then you are going to have to work very hard to get your needs met by other people. That’s one way…”
“[Jesus] said this because the sabbath day was a day to remember that they had once been slaves, in bondage, and now they were free. It was necessary for her to be healed, released from bondage, on a sabbath. In that way she became a living reminder, a sign, that God is still delivering his people from all kinds of bondage.”
“As Christians, we believe that Jesus was the savior that they were looking for, the messiah, and that by his life, death, and resurrection he has saved all of us too. The reality on-the-ground, though, was that Jesus’s presence was creating division. For once, Jesus was telling it like it was. His presence was separating families, causing arguments, and creating unrest. It had kindled a fire and things were burning. “
“Baseless hatred is not just about hating someone for no reason. It includes not doing anything to help others who are being treated cruelly.”
“This story is about greed, a lot of Jesus’s parables are. But it is also about the unseen people in the story: Who grew the crops, who would build the barns, why does the man have no one to talk to?”
“One time a girl in Sodom was convicted of giving bread to a poor person. As punishment, she was covered in honey and placed in front of a wasp’s nest. She died of wasp stings.”
“There are big things we can talk about, like the migrant crises on the southern border of the USA. But, we already know what is required: Don’t wrong them, love them, show them hospitality. It’s in the Bible. Interestingly, the Bible is silent on the subject of secure borders but it has a lot to say about people who cross them. God is not interested in what we think about it, though, God is interested in what we do.”
“They were expecting Jesus to pause and say, “Finally, a good Jew came by…” or, “Finally, a lawyer came by…” That would have held up a mirror of recognition to his listeners. They would have thought. “Oh, I’m a good Jew… I would have stopped to help the man too!” But, that is not what Jesus said. Instead, Jesus called them a bad name. He called them Samaritans! (Did you hear the collective gasp?)”