For a number of reasons I have never taught the book of Job. The easiest excuse is it has never been assigned in the curriculum. But even now that it has I have been tempted to skip it and go with something easier and less intense. After all, how many of us want to spend the next several weeks talking about suffering? Haven’t we had enough suffering in the last year? Wouldn’t we rather have something more upbeat and affirming? Another reason is almost superstitious for me and maybe for you as well. It is the sense that if you start talking about something bad then it may happen to…

The Beatles’ album “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” begins with these lyrics: “It was twenty years ago today Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play They’ve been going in and out of style But they’re guaranteed to raise a smile So may I introduce to you The act you’ve known for all these years Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Well, almost to the day it has been 24 years since Carol and I started teaching this class in 1997. It was not long before there was almost a complete turnover in the people attending. Early on one of the original members said to me, “Well, you’ve about cleared…

After an earthquake, scientists work to find both the epicenter and the hypocenter.  We know what the epicenter is: It is the point on the earth’s surface vertically above the initial quake.  It is not the origin of the quake but the spot directly above it on the surface. The actual quake begins deep below the epicenter in what is called the hypocenter. It is the point in the crust of the earth where the rupture actually occurs. The epicenter is the visible evidence of the hypocenter. In the crucifixion, we have both. The quake of the victory over sin and death is located here – at the cross. You…

With the exception of John, all of the Gospels have an account of the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. While Luke has something of an abbreviated version both Mark and Matthew give us more detail. So, again, let’s read from Matthew’s account. Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.” He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep…

For years, I had it in my mind this was a meal for thirteen that was relaxed and while full of symbolism was much like any other meal Jesus might have had with his disciples. They were, as was the custom, all reclined supporting themselves on cushions and not like most of the paintings portray them now sitting upright at a table. Everything had been set up ahead of time by two of his disciples outside the Twelve so there was no rushing around getting things ready. The table was set and everyone was looking forward to the meal that evening. But, according to Mark, as soon as they had…

Now we come to another parable with the common theme of others. The master puts responsibility in the hands of men and then goes away. He expects a return and by not getting what is rightfully his he punishes those who are unproductive.  Again, like we did last week, I want to use Matthew’s version of the parable in Matthew 21:33-46. Of course, this is a bit different from the parable of the minas in that these are not servants but tenants renting the land from the owner and while they are not unproductive they become arrogant about who owns the land and the produce. The end is the same.…

While there are differences between the way Luke tells the story of the ten minas and Matthew the story of the talents, there are many similarities. So, this morning I want to use Matthew’s account because I think he takes more time to create the context behind the parable – two whole chapters. In Luke’s account it says, “While they were listening to this, he went on to tell them a parable, because he was near Jerusalem and the people thought the kingdom of God was going to appear at once.” So, instead of that brief introduction to the parable in Luke, let’s look at the context of the parable…

A certain ruler asked him, “Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” “Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘You shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.’ “All these I have kept since I was a boy,” he said. When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me.” When he heard this, he became very sad,…

While the text this morning is Luke 15, I started thinking about the similarities between this story and Genesis 33 where Jacob meets Esau after a long estrangement.  This is the only positive story about Esau and the Edomites in all of the Old Testament. If anything, it is a picture of forgiveness and grace. Instead of meeting Jacob with 400 men armed and ready to get even after what Jacob had done to him, Esau runs to meet him and embraces Jacob. Instead of being the person Jacob had prepared to meet with all the bribes and plans to pacify him, Esau is extravagantly welcoming of an undeserving Jacob…

I’m always reluctant to teach a parable. Flannery O’Connor, the great Catholic writer said, “In most English classes the short story has become a kind of literary specimen to be dissected. Every time a story of mine appears in a Freshman anthology, I have a vision of it, with its little organs laid open, like a frog in a bottle. I realize that a certain amount of this what-is-the-significance has to go on, but I think something has gone wrong in the process when, for so many students, the story become simply a problem to be solved, something which you evaporate to get Instant Enlightenment.” Too often we are doing…