Author: Administrador

David Lose Dear Working Preacher,   If you’re not sure what to make of this parable, take some comfort — I’m not sure Luke was either! Consider that there are at least four interpretations offered immediately after the parable proper ends in verse 8a: The children of the light need to act more shrewdly. Christians … Continue reading “Money, Relationships, and Jesus’ Most Confusing Parable”

Jacob Myers In a recent New York Times article, Michael Winerip shares some lessons learned from the ravenous fires of 1988 that consumed nearly one third of Yellowstone National Park. Winerip points to a difficult decision regarding forest fires, writing, “If some fires aren’t permitted to burn in the wild, dry tinder builds on the … Continue reading “Preaching and Wildfire”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher,   One of the things I’ve learned from writing daily devotions over the last eighteen months is that biblical passages stretch further than we sometimes imagine. Indeed, what I’ve really learned is that sometimes we need to stretch them to make them useful to us. This Sunday’s parable is a … Continue reading “On Stretching Parables”

Patricia Tull Amtrak attracts folks who enjoy the journey as much as the destination. The Empire Builder runs a century-old course from Chicago, through Wisconsin, Minnesota, North Dakota, and past Glacier National Park in Montana to Seattle and Portland. A park ranger describes the glacial terrain and its natural history. Thirteen thousand years ago, the … Continue reading “Great Plains, Great Change”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher,   There will probably be a lot of people sitting in your pews this Sunday who feel just like the disciples — which is good for us to remember, as it’s easy to dismiss the disciples’ request for more faith as shallow or self-serving.   At first glance, it seems … Continue reading “Everyday Faith”

Nathan Aaseng I have an unusually heavy schedule of weddings to perform this year — three in the next 10 months. Which doesn’t sound heavy until you consider that’s just within my own immediate family! There are 8.5 years between these kids. What are the odds that we would experience a sudden stampede to the … Continue reading “A Voice Amid the Wedding Noise”

Ron Allen The Revised Common Lectionary is the backbone of preaching in many congregations. Yet, like every finite entity, the Revised Common Lectionary does not represent the fullness of God’s purposes. To supplement the lectionary, a new commentary, Preaching God’s Transforming Justice, introduces 22 new Holy Days for Justice.1 This article explores these days and their … Continue reading “New “Holy Days for Justice” Add Breadth and Depth to Preaching”

David Lose Dear Working Preacher,   I think we are in sore need of thanksgiving.   Take a look around. There is plenty of cause to be worried: too much unemployment; a gridlocked Congress and shut-down government; strife in Syria and too many other places in the world; the possibility of default on U.S. debts … Continue reading “Second Blessing”

Kae Evensen Like so many of us who are of a religious ilk, I function in two worlds. The first world seems to dominate most of my time and energy. It involves getting my work done in a timely manner, writing thank you notes, trying to dress myself so I look professional and not, what … Continue reading “Thy Kingdom Come”

Melinda Quivik Preachers have an opportunity throughout Year A to set the specific world of Matthew’s community beside our own. That is the focus of this essay. (Part II will deal with Jesus’ teachings in Matthew about a new way to live.) Seeing our own world through Matthew’s world gives us new perspective. From the … Continue reading “Disorientation into Matthew’s World: Preaching Matthew, Part I”