The Killer Instinct Of all the creatures in creation the shark is near the top of the list when it comes to the killer instinct. And that creates anxiety – even in little children. It might seem a little far-fetched to begin this homily, on our Lord’s Parable of the Landowner and His Vineyard, with […]
Love’s Final Words Today we have a sequel to last week’s text from Matthew. And this week we hear about forgiveness. So, let me emphasize that the word “forgiveness” means to send off, to hurl away, to let go, or to leave behind, whatever it is that keeps us bound. This morning I share with […]
This Is God’s Well! Our Gospel text for this morning is one of the most difficult in all of Matthew’s Gospel. It speaks to us of things we would rather not hear – and of things we would rather not do. It speaks to us about relationships and about the need to let go […]
The Clearest Picture Jesus, a man who was never a slave to public opinion, but he was interested in it. He wanted to Know what people thought about him and I am sure that his interest was more than a matter of curiosity. Perhaps it was a way of measuring the effectiveness of […]
A Persistent Faith I heard a make-believe story once about Jesus. He was meeting with a group of people and he said to them, “Hey, everybody, I’ve got an idea!” Well now, the Presbyterian said: “Just a minute. Is it sophisticated?” The Baptist said: “Is it moral?” The Methodist said: “Is it non-alcoholic?” The […]
The Kingdom Come The feeding of the 5,000! Imagine that! 5,000 people invading Jesus’ life at a time when he wanted to be alone. Jesus had just received the news that John the Baptist was dead. And he chose to retreat to a quiet place – as was his custom from time to time. But […]
In the Center At the risk of sounding redundant, I share with you again our Gospel text for this day. Only this time, I will fill in around the edges – giving you some of the insight which I gained as I prepared for this morning. First, it is important for us to realize that […]
Today’s Gospel text covers 5 of 8 parables found in this one chapter of Matthew. I choose to speak on two of them – the two that have to do with buying and selling. It is at this point in the chapter that we have heard of Jesus leaving the crowds, moving into a house, […]
Accepting Life’s Mysteries Today’s Gospel reading tells a story, a story of seemingly senseless vandalism. There was this farmer who had worked hard, prepared the ground, and planted his field with wheat. When he was done, nothing remained but to wait for the harvest, which would hopefully come in a few months. Now, farming, as […]
Pr. Norma Johnson – January 26, 2020