Matthew 13

The Prodigal Son is often read to mean that God loves sinners, whereas the Jews thought God only loved the righteous. This makes no sense.

I was startled earlier this year when news anchor Peter Mansbridge called someone a Good Samaritan on The National, the flagship nightly newscast of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. I was surprised that in our secularized, multifaith society, newswriters assumed that listeners would understand an allusion from the Bible.

On second thought, I was less surprised.

Six words of scripture always transport me to an amazing place: “The kingdom of heaven is like . . .”

We all see weeds, but we shouldn't make it our business to separate them.

Jesus' parable presents not differences between people but different kinds of terrain within each of us.

On Sundays, my mother stayed home and read the paper. Yet she insisted that we kids go to church.

I shared today in church a few of parables from Matthew 13: mustard seed, yeast, treasure, pearl. I tried to just tell them as stories: very little editorial commentary or explanation, just the stories.

If the watchman doesn't "sound the trumpet" and dissuade the wicked from their ways, the Lord promises to hold the watchman accountable.

Thomas Merton's conversion to Catholicism is among the most celebrated of the last century. But to which kind of Catholicism did Merton convert?

At this year's great Vigil of Easter, our congregation welcomed four new adult members: three women and one of their husbands.

Of all the Gospel writers, Matthew has his eye most fixed upon the leadership of the church.

What are we asking for when we pray for the kingdom of heaven to come?

When a seed is snapped up by a bird of the air, the seed’s journey isn’t necessarily over.

"I don't know how to do this," I said to the nothingness. The Holy Spirit took it from there.

Disconnectedness is the greatest threat to our spiritual security.

"Have you understood all this?" They said yes. God must still be laughing.

I have to sow my seeds in a propagator to maintain a temperature of 70-85 F? The parable of the sower doesn't say anything about that.