proper 27
Good religion: Mark 12:38-40
“Are you scribes gone awry?” Jesus asks us. “Have you got good religion?”
Small change (Hebrews 9:24-28; Mark 12:38-44)
I remember seeing Helena, a widow, unfolding a $20 bill to put in the offering plate. I knew that her family was selling its possessions to pay the ransom for her only son, imprisoned by guerrillas.
Hopeful grieving: 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Perhaps the most insidious byproduct of modern apocalyptic scenarios is that grief is shoved right off the table.
Monastic mentors: Luke 20:27-38
I would just as soon skip the first part of this Gospel reading. The Sadducees are trying to trick Jesus by getting him to respond to an impossible question about the resurrection. According to the law, if one of two brothers dies before his wife has children, then his brother marries her. But what if there are seven brothers, and each marries the woman in turn? To whom will she belong at the resurrection?
Widow's walk: Mark 12:38-44
The widow tossed the only shred of independence she had into the offering plate, but she kept intact her complete dependence on God and neighbor. She is our spiritual mentor standing there on the margins of all we hold dear. Her way is a life of faith grounded in the love of God, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit. It’s a life lived in the conviction that we are stewards of all we have in our hands and our lives, not the owners of these things.
True grit: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25
I’ve never been totally honest about baptismal vows. I bet Joshua would have been.