Summary: Jesus’ Parable of the Ten Bridesmaids is one of several parables in Matthew’s Gospel that describe the Christian life as actively anticipating God’s promise to bring God’s intentions to fullness. This anticipation involves a readiness that manifests itself in perseverance, obedience, and compassion. It leads Christians to action on behalf of those who suffer, especially those who suffer exclusion.
Tag: gospel of matthew
Summary: Jesus tells a parable about two sons, neither one of whom lives up to what he says, to show that true, life-giving devotion shows itself in efforts to participate in God’s work on behalf of the world’s well-being. We might respond by thinking about ways to participate in God’s work to improve the lives of our neighbors.
Summary: Jesus begins his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel with nine statements that declare categories of people “blessed,” or content. Yet the people he describes are the ones we usually view with pity. In announcing whom he has come to bless, Jesus upends our ordinary values about where and how success and contentment are found.
Summary: When Jesus says, “Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor’s, and God the things that are God’s,” he exposes the ways in which our lives involve us in commitments that demand our allegiances. Without calling us to be ascetics or separatists, he calls us to renewed loyalty to God. This piece explores the difficulty of cleanly navigating the ambiguities of our social and political lives.
Summary: Jesus’ Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard tells us something about the scandalous character of God’s generosity. It also identifies the kinds of people most likely to attract God’s gracious attention. Those people are always with us, and their numbers seem to be getting larger in the current American cultural context, with its persistent unemployment rates and its contempt toward undocumented immigrants.
Summary: This piece reflects on faith and fear in the story of Peter asking Jesus to call him to walk on the stormy Sea of Galilee. How might faith like this exercise itself in the midst of America’s economic woes?
Summary: The New Testament contains four gospels. These books describe the same man named Jesus, but they do so in sometimes strikingly different ways. Instead of combining the gospels into a single, composite story, we do well to let each one speak for itself and keep varied perspectives in view.
Read the full article on The Huffington Post.
Summary: In this biblical passage, Jesus warns against practicing piety in public, to gain the approval of others. The lectionary assigns this passage for Ash Wednesday.
I wrote this biblical commentary for those preparing to preach or teach on the passage. Read the commentary at Working Preacher.