Blindness is one of John’s favorite metaphors for the spiritual life. Today, we get this same metaphor in Matthew and the message is a painful one. Jesus predicts His own torture and death, concluding with the promise of His resurrection 3 days later. Without comment from anyone, Matthew moves on to tell us that James and John’s mom (presumably “the Wife of Thunder” if we read Mark 3:17) approaches Jesus asking that her boys be […]
Blindness is one of John’s favorite metaphors for the spiritual life. Today, we get this same metaphor in Matthew and the message is a painful one. Jesus predicts His own torture and death, concluding with the promise of His resurrection 3 days later. Without comment from anyone, Matthew moves on to tell us that James and John’s mom (presumably “the Wife of Thunder” if we read Mark 3:17) approaches Jesus asking that her boys be […]
Can we accept that God is in control? Can we submit ourselves to God even when His ways are vastly different from our ways? It seems like our world will only follow God if He follows our rules of fairness and timing. If we don’t understand a rule God sets for us, we demand an explanation or we just ignore it. When God commands restitution for an unjust act, we understand it, agree with it, […]
Can we accept that God is in control? Can we submit ourselves to God even when His ways are vastly different from our ways? It seems like our world will only follow God if He follows our rules of fairness and timing. If we don’t understand a rule God sets for us, we demand an explanation or we just ignore it. When God commands restitution for an unjust act, we understand it, agree with it, […]
In seminary, we studied this passage about the rich man and Jesus, and I proposed a new interpretation. I suggested that the rich man “went away sad” not because (1) he was wealthy and (2) unwilling to give that wealth away, but rather that (1) he was wealthy and (2) he was going to HAVE to give it away. I suggested that the ultimate outcome of the young man was sorrowful salvation rather than the […]