proper 15
Boundless discipleship: Matthew 15:(10-20), 21-28
How do we determine and define what is pure and wholesome?
Whose casserole? John 6:51-58
When my daughter was in grade school, her teacher included a unit on table manners. The rule that amused me was, “When served food, you should never ask, ‘What is this?’” I don’t think I’ve asked that question aloud, but I’ve certainly thought it, especially at potlucks.
Dogging Jesus: Matthew 15:21-28
A kneeling woman does not have far to fall, and by all rights Jesus' insult should have floored her on the spot.
Disturbing the peace: Luke 12:49-56
In this reading from Luke we confront stark and conflictual sayings of Jesus that sit poorly with contemporary images of God. Our culture seems to prize a God with an infinite capacity for empathy, a God who is “nice.” Luke challenges this thinking. He offers a glimpse of redemption for a world that is anything but nice—and that needs much more than a nice God to redeem it.
Siding with grace: Romans 11:1-2a, 29-32; Matthew 15:21-28
How do the blessed feel when they think of the damned?