Author: Administrador

Paul’s Authority Issues Have you ever had issues with your pastoral authority? What is your authority based upon? Why should anyone listen to you? How can we congregants tell if your gospel is Jesus’ gospel? Paul is in a bind in Galatia. He founded the churches in that area and then, as he was wont … Continue reading “Galatians 1:11-24 Commentary by Jaime Clark-Soles”

In the last session of a Pauline Letters class at Luther Seminary this spring, I asked my students to write short stories about Paul — very short stories. The assignment was to produce a six-word story about Paul, his theology, or his letters. Paul in Six WordsThere were too many great ones to include them … Continue reading “Galatians 1:11-24 Commentary by Mary Hinkle Shore”

“God called me through his grace.” If the apostle Paul had possessed a Twitter account, he might have wished for that as a trending message on social media. Not in order to brag (although some people might read it that way), but rather because the assertion characterizes the heart of his identity: he has been … Continue reading “Galatians 1:11-24 Commentary by Audrey West”

If you have ever returned a rental car, you have driven over those spikes that are made to ensure that the rental cars are not stolen out of the lot. The spikes collapse when you drive forward over them, but if you were to back up, the spikes would presumably stay upright and cause, as … Continue reading “Galatians 1:1-12 Commentary by Mary Hinkle Shore”

The apostle Paul is astonished (Galatians 1:6) and perplexed (4:20) at what has happened among the Galatian Christians since he was working and preaching among them. To say that he is angry is an understatement. Indeed, he is so perturbed that he flings curses at the people who have stirred up the churches in the … Continue reading “Galatians 1:1-12 Commentary by Audrey West”

I feel certain that the Galatians, when they made their move toward keeping the law of Moses, were not expecting to be remembered by Christians through the centuries as “foolish” and “bewitched.” It is a safe bet that they did not set out to get the whole gospel wrong. In fact, they probably thought they … Continue reading “Galatians 1:1-9; 5:1-6, 13-14 Commentary by Mary Hinkle Shore”

Relating this biblical text to the liturgical context is no easy thing. Because the setting is Trinity Sunday, many preachers will feel pressure to call on these verses to prove or explain the doctrine of the Trinity. The results, almost certainly, will not be pretty. This reading is the lectionary’s attempt to summon a passage … Continue reading “2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Commentary by Matt Skinner”

In what might initially appear to be “just” the conclusion to 2 Corinthians, Paul lays out in chapter 13:11-13 both a charge to unity within the church and a benediction that two millennia later begins the communion liturgy and leads to Trinitarian theology. The most popular theory at the moment regarding the composition of 2 … Continue reading “2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Commentary by Walter F. Taylor, Jr.”

The final remarks in 2 Corinthians encapsulate Paul’s advice in this letter and highlight the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit that make “new creation” possible (2 Corinthians 5:17). On this Sunday that celebrates the mystery of the holy trinity, Paul’s final words to … Continue reading “2 Corinthians 13:11-13 Commentary by Carla Works”

He was a spellbinding preacher addressing the ecumenical Thanksgiving gathering in the little gymnasium of my hometown. “I wear a white suit, white shoes, and a red tie for the blood of Jesus!” he declared. The message was all about him, full of his exploits, and calling for “powerful faith” like his to make all … Continue reading “2 Corinthians 12:2-10 Commentary by David Tiede”