Sure, we should give the money, say the prayers, but we should also do what we can to ally ourselves with those whom Jesus was allied with. In this way, we become one in fulfillment of Jesus’s final prayer that we all be one.
… when you actively resist evil, other kingdoms quiver.
As things compete for your time and attention this week examine each one to see which holds the oil of your own God-given passion, and which are just place-holders which may look good and holy but are really just empty lamps.
So whether your saint wins the Golden Halo or just accompanies you on your daily rounds, let them whisper in your ear reminding you that you too are a member of this august company of saints, adulterers, liars, and fakes.
Why was God so hard on Moses and Aaron? What’s the big deal, anyway? Did God change his mind about hitting stones? These are all good questions too, but I suspect the question Moses had was simply, WHY?
Meryl Streep is a hypocrite. She is probably the biggest hypocrite in Hollywood, maybe the world. Of course, there are lots of hypocrites in Hollywood. Eva Longoria, Leonardo DeCaprio, Morgan Freeman, George Clooney. Oprah Winfrey is a hypocrite too. That’s right, all of them! They’re all hypocrites.
Dear friends, we can’t let these little trials beat the love out of us. When you feel the hostility rise, and the blanket of being right enfolds you, ask yourself this? What kind of person am I becoming? Who will I be when this is all over?
What about you? Has there been a time when your harsh words felt warm and right in the moment but turned out to be just another turn in the cycle of violence?
So, in this little allegory, Jesus has turned the question around on the Chief Priests and elders. They had hoped to undermine his authority, but instead, he undermined theirs!
The Book of Jonah Before the beginning, there was only God. God both existed and did not exist, and God filled every space and