Tag: Judgment
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Sheep Or Goat? Yes We Are – A Sermon On Matthew 25:31-46
So what do you make of today’s gospel (Matthew 25: 31-46)? Is Jesus separating the good from the bad? Is Jesus saying some are welcome and included in the kingdom but others are rejected and excluded? Is Jesus keeping score of what we’ve done and left undone and then handing out rewards and punishment? And… Read more
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The Conflicting Snapshots Of Our Lives – A Sermon On Mark 8:31-38
We’ve known times in our lives when we felt unprepared for what we were facing. We looked down the road at what was coming and we didn’t like what we saw. We wanted to cry out, “No. This isn’t happening. This cannot be. This must not be.” Haven’t there been times when you felt scared,… Read more
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Nazareth: A Condition Of The Heart – A Sermon On John 1:43-51
Over the last few days I thought a lot about my Nazareths; the people, places, and situations that I had no right to judge, question, or label but I did, and sometimes still do. I’ve wondered about the ways I’ve belittled, demeaned, and rejected the Nazareths in my life. I am sure I lost more… Read more
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A New Year’s Day Reflection: 2017, Good Or Bad?
The year end reviews and assessments are underway. You can read them in the op eds and on social media. You can hear them in the conversations we share with one another and in the silence of our own hearts. Was 2017 a good year or a bad year? It depends, I guess, on who Read more
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Choices – A Sermon on Matthew 25:31-46
Last week I was on the way home from running some errands. I stopped for the light at the square and a young man walked across the street in front of me. I recognized him as one of “the least of these.” I recognized him as the guy who came by my office just few… Read more
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Seeing All There is to See – A Sermon on John 9:1-41
Everything about Jesus, his life, his words, his actions, are a judgment on our lives and world. That judgment offers us the chance to see as he sees, to live as he lives, and to be as he is. His judgment, however, is not an adjudication for the purpose of punishment. Rather, it is a… Read more
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Weeding out Judgment – A Sermon on Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43; Parable of the Wheat and Weeds
“Where, then, did these weeds come from?” (Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43, Parable of the Weeds, Proper 11A) Who has not at some point asked that question? You may not have used those same words and you may not have spoken it aloud but I’ll bet everyone has, at some time or another, asked the question. Maybe Read more
Interrupting the Silence 