Holy Textures

Welcome to Holy Textures, Year B, Season of Pentecost, Part 2

   

Holy Textures is a spot for my musings on the various Biblical texts that come our way through the Revised Common Lectionary.

My goal is to provide timely, short, easy to use and faith-provoking background commentary for your sermon or bible study preparation.

Year B - Season after Pentecost - 2021, Part 2
September to Reign of Christ or Christ the King

One of the things I like about Year B with its focus on Mark is that we get a fuller reading of the Gospel text. A richer, more detailed hearing of Mark's narrative, of Mark's testimony, of Mark's proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. The final weeks of Pentecost move us to reflecting on end times, taking up our own crosses, and asking "What will do after this?" This are questions our world needs good responses to. May these texts guide us to find the way of life and truth.

The questions I ask myself in each of the commentaries below are always: "Why was this Good News at the time of Jesus? Why is this Good News for us, here and now?" I pray you will be able to use these offerings to respond to those questions in your own context.

Note that in Pentecost, the Sundays are numbered as "after" Pentecost Sunday. So the first Sunday after Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, is Pentecost 1. And because the dates of Easter and Pentecost change each year, so do the number of Sundays that follow Pentecost.

David Ewart
Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Acknowledgement in oral presentations is not required.
Otherwise, please acknowledge source as, "David Ewart, www.holytextures.com."

 

 

Eating with unclean hands

Pentecost 14
August 29, 2021
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
"The struggle that every community in every age - including our own - faces is how can the 'tradition of the elders,' which has given us our identity, now be changed so that what was good in it - the desire to live according to the will of God - can actually be expressed in our current circumstances."

 

Even dogs eat the crumbs

Pentecost 15
September 5, 2021
Mark 7:24-37
"The racial and religious differences between Jesus and the Gentile woman are unchanged. But what has changed is that courage and caring for a daughter have been shown to be acceptable to God - even when they come from a Gentile heart; even when they come from a woman's heart; even when they come from the heart of a woman who has publicly shamed herself by being out alone, by speaking to a man, and by daring to speak back to a man."

 

Those who follow me must take up their cross

Pentecost 16
September 12, 2021
Mark 8:27-38
"Poor old Peter. In verse 30, he calls Jesus, the Messiah. Three short verses later, Jesus is calling Peter, 'Satan.'"

 

Whoever welcomes one such child ...

Pentecost 17
September 19, 2021
Mark 9:30-37
"The disciples response of not understanding, being afraid to ask, and then being silent echoes the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Their initial reaction of being afraid to ask breaks communication with Jesus; breaks their relationship with him. It leaves them with only themselves to talk to, and it leads them to do things for which they feel ashamed to name."

 

A call to loyalty, not purity

Pentecost 18
September 26, 2021
Mark 9:38-50
"The Good News in this parable is ... that Jesus knows we will stumble and expects us to show up in Heaven lame and scarred by the inner struggle to be true to our loyalty to God as frail and faulty human beings."

 

What God has joined

Pentecost 19
October 3, 2021
Mark 10:2-16
"Jesus is being tested for his detailed knowledge of the Torah and his ability to demonstrate wisdom in his application of it to real life issues."

 

Do not worry about your life

Thanksgiving Sunday (Canada)
October 10, 2021
Matthew 6:25-33
"The opposite of worry / fear / anxiety is faith - or better still - trust."

 

You lack one thing

Pentecost 20
October 10, 2021 
Mark 10:17-31
"The only way to 'inherit' eternal life is to be the eldest son of the one who owns eternal life. Everyone else can only receive eternal life as a freely given gift from the owner."

 

You must be slave of all

Pentecost 21
October 17, 2021
Mark 10:35-45
"Jesus says that his followers are to treat one another as they would treat their own family: meeting each other's needs without concern for pay back."

 

Lord, let me see

Pentecost 22
October 24, 2021
Mark 10:46-52
"Notice that Mark says Bartimaeus is told that it is 'Jesus of Nazareth' - which identifies Jesus only by his low cast, peasant, hillbilly status by birth - but Bartimaeus SHOUTS out, 'Jesus, Son of David' - identifying Jesus by his God-given status."

 

Lazarus come out

All Saints
November 1, 2021
John 11:32-44
"Using this text for All Saints is problematic because it confuses RESTORED life with RESURRECTED life."

 

The greatest commandment is ...

Pentecost 23
October 31, 2021
Mark 12:28-34
"No one in that crowd of both opponents and admirers would dispute, "Love of God," as the greatest commandment. But when Jesus goes on and links it to, "Love of neighbour as oneself," he has lifted attachment to the welfare of one's neighbours above all other duties and obligations."

 

She has given all she had to live on

Pentecost 24
November 7, 2021
Mark 12:38-44
"The widow who has given "all she had to live on" foreshadows the coming contribution of Jesus to his mission of proclaiming God's Good News of non-violent justice in the face of Rome's violent injustice. Like the widow, Jesus holds nothing back."

 

(c) KIMO, www.kimostudios.com

Pentecost 25
November 14, 2021
Mark 13:1-8
"Whatever system of government may currently be in power, God's Royal Proclamation comes as a Word that evokes an accounting from - and possibly a confrontation with - earthly rulers. And as Jesus simply observes: don't be led astray, earthly rulers never accept accounting kindly. There will be resistance."

 

Source: Cerezo Barredo

Pentecost 26
Reign of Christ or Christ the King
November 21, 2021
John 18:33-37
"Thus the tension in the Gospels is not between Jesus and 'the Jews.' The tension is between Jesus the Galilean hillbilly proclaimer of the coming of God's Kingdom of non-violent justice and the Judean snobbish elites who are also collaborators of the Roman Empire of violent non-justice."

 

Do not worry about your life

Thanksgiving Day (USA)
November 25, 2021
Matthew 6:25-33
"The opposite of worry / fear / anxiety is faith - or better still - trust."

 

2021 Key Liturgical Dates

 

Welcome to Holy Textures, Year C, Season After Pentecost, September to November

   

Holy Textures is a spot for my musings on the various Biblical texts that come our way through the Revised Common Lectionary.

My goal is to provide timely, short, easy to use and faith-provoking background commentary for your sermon or bible study preparation.

By entering your email and clicking "Subscribe," you can receive all new posts by email. You will only receive new posts, nothing else - no spam, nada, zip. Your information will not be shared or sold in any way to any one; ever.

Year C - Season After Pentecost, September to November - 2022

How does our Christian story help us to respond to the various crisis - personal, political, economic, and climate - that our planet is facing these days?

This is not the first time that followers of Jesus have felt they were entering cataclysmic social and political turmoil. My prayer is that Holy Textures will help you uncover and live trustworthy, clear-eyed, non-anxious, compassionate hope that is worthy of God's unwavering justice-seeking-love for this beautiful world.

And for those of you who like to plan ahead - Christmas Day is a Sunday this year.

David Ewart
Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Acknowledgement in oral presentations is not required.
Otherwise, please acknowledge source as, "David Ewart, www.holytextures.com."

 

 

When you give a banquet, invite the poor

Pentecost 12
August 28, 2022
Luke 14:1, 7-14
"This is what Jesus is teaching / proclaiming here. What does it look like for those with higher status / honour / privilege to live the year of the Lord's favour?"

 

Sit down first and consider the cost

Pentecost 13
September 4, 2022
Luke 14:25-33
"So at a minimum these sayings of Jesus ought to draw us up short. Cause us to reflect how much the choices we have already made are costing us - and our planet; and to consider whether the costs of following Jesus might be a better investment."

 

(c) Cortney L. Haley, GoTell Communications. Used with permission.

Pentecost 14
September 11, 2022
Luke 15:1-10
"There may indeed be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, but the parables are more about the joy to be had on earth from hearing the good news of the extravagant God who risks all to search for each one of us personally, individually - joyfully."

 

The shrewd manager

Pentecost 15
September 18, 2022
Luke 16:1-13
"These wisdom sayings are advising us to deal astutely with this world fully as it is, on its own terms, but also knowing full well that it is temporary and failing. We are to reach through this passing world to embrace the coming world of God's kingdom."

 

I am in agony in these flames.

Pentecost 16
September 25, 2022
Luke 16:19-31
"A reversal at the outset of the story is that the beggar is given a name and the rich man is not. That single fact ought to alert us that the story we are about to hear is going have surprises in it."

 

Note: First Sunday in October (1 to 7) is Worldwide Communion Sunday.

 

You may eat after your work is done.

Pentecost 17
October 2, 2022
Luke 17:5-10
"Instead of assuming that Jesus is promising that if our faith is big enough we will be able to do miracles, let's wonder if Jesus isn't chastising us for thinking in the first place that faith / trust comes in sizes."

 

Note: Thanksgiving Day in Canada is Second Monday in October (8 to 14)
Thanksgiving Sunday is October 7 to 13 Inclusive

I am the bread of life.

Thanksgiving Sunday, CANADA
October 9, 2022
John 6:25-35
"Jesus is saying to us, 'Make your relationship with me as really real as bread is and I will satisfy the hunger that real bread cannot.'"

 

But one of them ...

Pentecost 18
October 9, 2022
Luke 17:11-19
"The 9 who do not return are the ones who do what is expected of a leper who has been cured. But they do what is expected because they CAN do what is expected - they are Galileans, they can go and see a priest. The Samaritan cannot."

 

Pray always and never lose heart.

Pentecost 19
October 16, 2022
Luke 18:1-8
"While God's response is always immediate that justice be done, the actual realization of God's response is not necessarily immediate because justice has to be done justly, and with the willing cooperation of all concerned."

 

God, be merciful to me.

Pentecost 20
October 23, 2022
Luke 18:9-14
"The bumper sticker we all should have on our cars is: "God loves me, so I'm trying to live like that. (And not like the jerk I usually am.)" This is the transformation the tax collector experiences in this parable."

 

Knowing our need of God

All Saints Day
November 1
or the First Sunday in November (1 to 7)
November 6, 2022
Luke 6:20-31
"This is a great text to preach as a high calling to the character of Christian community. Preaching it as pre-conditions for being resurrected - that would be a mistake. Preaching it as a calling to live as those who have been raised from the dead - that would be a blessing."

 

Zaccheaus come down.

Pentecost 21
October 30, 2022
Luke 19:1-10
"One possible moral of this story is to realize that salvation does not require, nor result in, perfection. Salvation in this lifetime is a process - the healing and reconciling that is needed for creating right relationships within which compromised, impure, and sinful people - like us - can live within, in response to, and toward, the realm of God."

 

Indeed, they cannot die anymore.

Pentecost 22
November 6, 2019
Luke 20:27-38
"Remember, in a couple of days, "resurrection" is going to be a life and death question for Jesus - not merely an interesting topic for discussion and debate. If your life depended on it, what would you say about resurrection?"

 

All will be thrown down.

Pentecost 23
November 13, 2022
Luke 21:5-19
"Jesus doesn't promise us an easy life. Instead, he tells us the truth. And he promises us that the truth will set us free. I wonder how the words of today's passage have been true and freeing for us?"

 

They crucified Jesus there.

Pentecost 24
Christ The King or Reign of Christ Sunday
November 20, 2022
Luke 23:33-43
"What sort of Saviour can't even save himself? "IF you are the Messiah...?" The word "if" gets us thinking - or rather doubting. It shifts us from relating with Jesus to reasoning about him; from love to logic; from our hearts to our heads. But salvation is not about changing bad circumstances to good ones - coming down off a cross. Salvation is knowing and trusting without a shred of doubt, without a second's hesitation that we abide in God's love - no matter what the circumstances - even on a cross."

 

I am the bread of life.

Thanksgiving Day, USA is the fourth Thursday in November
November 24, 2022
John 6:25-35
"Jesus is saying to us, 'Make your relationship with me as really real as bread is and I will satisfy the hunger that real bread cannot.'"

 

And here are the key calendar dates for 2022.

Key Liturgical dates for 2022

Welcome to Holy Textures, Year A, Season of Pentecost, September to November

Holy Textures is a spot for my musings on the various Biblical texts that come our way through the Revised Common Lectionary.

My goal is to provide timely, short, easy to use and faith-provoking background commentary for your sermon or bible study preparation.

Year A - Season after Pentecost - 2020 - September to November

When we Christians pray, "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven," we are praying for an end to the violent injustice that elites use in the name of "government" to enrich themselves. And instead for life on earth to be like it is in heaven: just and joyful. 

And when we Christians listen, learn, and follow Jesus we prepare for the tumult that our prayer is asking for; and practice for living together as joyful and just communities here on earth - just as it already in heaven. This is the promise that Jesus makes to us as we walk with him these remaining Sundays to his upside down "enthronement" on a cross.

Doesn't the whole wide earth long for rulers who understand that the highest and best life is one given for the good of all?

Welcome to Holy Textures as we journey together on the way to the Reign of Christ.

   

If another sins against you

Pentecost 14
September 6, 2020
Matthew 18:15-20  
"Real churches have - or should have - real conflicts. The only real harm that will come to a church community is to refuse to deal with conflicts. Conflicts do not kill churches. Refusing to deal with conflict kills churches."

   

Forgive until it works

Pentecost 15
September 13, 2020
Matthew 18:21-35  
"Jesus is calling us to give up calculating offenses and forgivenesses; and instead to have a forgiving heart; a forgiven heart; a heart for forgiveness. This is a shift of ATTITUDE. But it is not an "anything goes" attitude. Forgiveness actually stands FOR some things; and therefore, does NOT stand for everything."

   

The Kin_dom of Heaven is like

Pentecost 16
September 20, 2020
Matthew 20:1-16 
"Where 2 or 3 are gathered together - in families, friends, or church - the challenge is always: How will we deal with envy when God is generous in a way that is not equal for all."  

   

Deeds not words reveal your integrity

Pentecost 17
September 27, 2020
Matthew 21:23-32 
"It is we who are sitting in church who SAY (and sing and pray) many things. But this text puts the focus on what we actually DO. Just exactly what is it that we do after we leave church on Sunday? Ouch."

   

Imagine our beautiful earth as God's vineyard

Pentecost 18
October 4, 2020
Matthew 21:33-46 
"Who, ACTUALLY, is producing the fruit of the Kingdom? It could be the religious leaders. Nay. It SHOULD be the religious leaders. But are they? Are we?"

   

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Thanksgiving Sunday (Canada)
October 11, 2020
Luke 17:11-19
"The 9 who do not return are the ones who do what is expected of a leper who has been cured. But they do what is expected because they CAN do what is expected - they are Galileans, they can go and see a priest. The Samaritan cannot."

   

Honouring God's invitation

Pentecost 19
October 11, 2020
Matthew 22:1-14 
"How is this a parable teaching about what the Kingdom of Heaven is like? What sort of behaviours and attitudes does it call for now? At a minimum it means: expect to have to hang out with non-elites - good and bad all together; take seriously the honour of the invitation and do it right."

   

Show me the coin for paying the tax

Pentecost 20
October 18, 2020
Matthew 22:15-22 
"How can a Jew be faithful and observant and also stay alive under Roman rule? Yikes. But it is precisely this position of being caught in a bind of irreconcilable, conflicting obligations and duties that make real life so interesting. The desire to make the tension go away, to solve it, is the enemy of true faithfulness."

   

Love God AND neighbour

Pentecost 21
October 25, 2020
Matthew 22:34-46 
"The "love" that is being called for is not emotion; it is not "liking," "getting along with," "desiring," or "feeling warm about." The "love" Jesus is talking about here is trust, loyalty, enduring devotion, being attached to. You may actually hate your neighbour, but you will still love them in the Biblical sense if you continue to act for their well-being."

   

Do not do as they do

Pentecost 22
November 1, 2020
Matthew 23:1-12 
"Unfortunately, the scribes and Pharisees - like us - were the ones who studied the Bible, who prayed regularly, and who earnestly sought to live in accordance with Biblical teachings. That is, they are who we are now. Are we like them? Yikes!"

   

Blessed are ...

All Saints
November 1, 2020
Matthew 5:1-12 
"Those we honour as saints have never been ALL good, ALL the time. But thankfully, those who followed Jesus, at some time, have had some inkling of hearing these words and practicing them. Their lives inspire us to do the same."

   

Give me oil in my lamp to keep me burning

Pentecost 23
November 8, 2020
Matthew 25:1-13 
"This is a story about honouring the bridegroom who has gone away to fetch his bride by being prepared for his return - at the time of his own choosing, whenever that might be."

   

Refuse to exploit the poor

Pentecost 24
November 15, 2020
Matthew 25:14-30  
"This a Wisdom parable teaching us about the perils and difficulties of the ways of the world until the Kingdom comes. It warns us to continue to expect the rich to steal from the poor; and for the followers of Jesus to expect to be punished by the rich for behaving honourably - burying the ill-gotten wealth and refusing to use it to take even more from the poor."

   

For I was thirsty and you ...?

Pentecost 25
Reign of Christ  or  Christ the King
November 22, 2020
Matthew 25:31-46  
"The judgement is NOT based on doing the right things to/for Jesus. Of course we would do all those things if we knew it was Jesus. (Wouldn't we?) But unfortunately, the judgement is based on just doing the right things for the dispossessed. This is not rocket science; it only requires common sense and human decency. And we all have that don't we?"

   

Praise God from whom all blessings flow

Thanksgiving Day (USA)
Thursday, November 26, 2020
Luke 17:11-19
"The 9 who do not return are the ones who do what is expected of a leper who has been cured. But they do what is expected because they CAN do what is expected - they are Galileans, they can go and see a priest. The Samaritan cannot."

   

Here are the key liturgical dates for 2020:

Key Liturgical dates for 2020

   

And here are the key liturgical dates for 2021:

Key liturgical dates for 2021

   

Welcome to Holy Textures, Year C, Season of Pentecost, Part 2: September 1 to November 28, 2019

Holy Textures is my attempt to provide a spot for my musings on the various Biblical texts that come our way through the Revised Common Lectionary. My goal is to provide timely, short, easy to use and thought-provoking background commentary for your sermon or bible study preparation.

How does our Christian story help us to respond to the various crisis - personal, political, and climate - that our planet is facing these days?

This is not the first time that followers of Jesus have felt they were entering cataclysmic social and political turmoil. My prayer is that Holy Textures will help you uncover and live trustworthy, clear-eyed, non-anxious, compassionate hope that is worthy of God's unwavering justice-seeking-love for this beautiful world.

 

When you give a banquet, invite the poor

Pentecost 12
September 1, 2019
Luke 14:1, 7-14
"This is what Jesus is teaching / proclaiming here. What does it look like for those with higher status / honour / privilege to live the year of the Lord's favour?"

 

Sit down first and consider the cost

Pentecost 13
September 8, 2019
Luke 14:25-33
"So at a minimum these sayings of Jesus ought to draw us up short. Cause us to reflect how much the choices we have already made are costing us - and our planet; and to consider whether the costs of following Jesus might be a better investment."

 

(c) Cortney L. Haley, GoTell Communications. Used with permission.

Pentecost 14
September 15, 2019
Luke 15:1-10
"There may indeed be joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, but the parables are more about the joy to be had on earth from hearing the good news of the extravagant God who risks all to search for each one of us personally, individually - joyfully."

 

The shrewd manager

Pentecost 15
September 22, 2019
Luke 16:1-13
"These wisdom sayings are advising us to deal astutely with this world fully as it is, on its own terms, but also knowing full well that it is temporary and failing. We are to reach through this passing world to embrace the coming world of God's kingdom."

 

I am in agony in these flames.

Pentecost 16
September 29, 2019
Luke 16:19-31
"A reversal at the outset of the story is that the beggar is given a name and the rich man is not. That single fact ought to alert us that the story we are about to hear is going have surprises in it."

 

Note: First Sunday in October (1 to 7) is Worldwide Communion Sunday.

 

You may eat after your work is done.

Pentecost 17
October 6, 2019
Luke 17:5-10
"Instead of assuming that Jesus is promising that if our faith is big enough we will be able to do miracles, let's wonder if Jesus isn't chastising us for thinking in the first place that faith / trust comes in sizes."

 

Note: Thanksgiving Day in Canada is Second Monday in October (8 to 14)
Thanksgiving Sunday is October 7 to 13 Inclusive

I am the bread of life.

Thanksgiving Sunday, CANADA
October 13, 2019
John 6:25-35
"Jesus is saying to us, 'Make your relationship with me as really real as bread is and I will satisfy the hunger that real bread cannot.'"

 

But one of them ...

Pentecost 18
October 13, 2019
Luke 17:11-19
"The 9 who do not return are the ones who do what is expected of a leper who has been cured. But they do what is expected because they CAN do what is expected - they are Galileans, they can go and see a priest. The Samaritan cannot."

 

Pray always and never lose heart.

Pentecost 19
October 20, 2019
Luke 18:1-8
"While God's response is always immediate that justice be done, the actual realization of God's response is not necessarily immediate because justice has to be done justly, and with the willing cooperation of all concerned."

 

God, be merciful to me.

Pentecost 20
October 27, 2019
Luke 18:9-14
"The bumper sticker we all should have on our cars is: "God loves me, so I'm trying to live like that. (And not like the jerk I usually am.)" This is the transformation the tax collector experiences in this parable."

 

Knowing our need of God

All Saints Day
November 1
or the First Sunday in November (1 to 7)
November 3, 2019
Luke 6:20-31
"This is a great text to preach as a high calling to the character of Christian community. Preaching it as pre-conditions for being resurrected - that would be a mistake. Preaching it as a calling to live as those who have been raised from the dead - that would be a blessing."

 

Zaccheaus come down.

Pentecost 21
November 3, 2019
Luke 19:1-10
"One possible moral of this story is to realize that salvation does not require, nor result in, perfection. Salvation in this lifetime is a process - the healing and reconciling that is needed for creating right relationships within which compromised, impure, and sinful people - like us - can live within, in response to, and toward, the realm of God."

 

Indeed, they cannot die anymore.

Pentecost 22
November 10, 2019
Luke 20:27-38
"Remember, in a couple of days, "resurrection" is going to be a life and death question for Jesus - not merely an interesting topic for discussion and debate. If your life depended on it, what would you say about resurrection?"

 

All will be thrown down.

Pentecost 23
November 17, 2019
Luke 21:5-19
"Jesus doesn't promise us an easy life. Instead, he tells us the truth. And he promises us that the truth will set us free. I wonder how the words of today's passage have been true and freeing for us?"

 

They crucified Jesus there.

Pentecost 24
Christ The King or Reign of Christ Sunday
November 24, 2019
Luke 23:33-43
"What sort of Saviour can't even save himself? "IF you are the Messiah...?" The word "if" gets us thinking - or rather doubting. It shifts us from relating with Jesus to reasoning about him; from love to logic; from our hearts to our heads. But salvation is not about changing bad circumstances to good ones - coming down off a cross. Salvation is knowing and trusting without a shred of doubt, without a second's hesitation that we abide in God's love - no matter what the circumstances - even on a cross."

 

I am the bread of life.

Thanksgiving Day, USA is the fourth Thursday in November
November 28, 2019
John 6:25-35
"Jesus is saying to us, 'Make your relationship with me as really real as bread is and I will satisfy the hunger that real bread cannot.'"

 

 

And here are the key calendar dates for 2019

2019 Liturgical Dates

Welcome to Holy Textures, Year B, Season of Pentecost, Part 2

Holy Textures is a spot for my musings on the various Biblical texts that come our way through the Revised Common Lectionary.

My goal is to provide timely, short, easy to use and faith-provoking background commentary for your sermon or bible study preparation.

Year B - Season after Pentecost - 2018, Part 2
September to Reign of Christ or Christ the King

One of the things I like about Year B with its focus on Mark is that we get a fuller reading of the Gospel text. A richer, more detailed hearing of Mark's narrative, of Mark's testimony, of Mark's proclamation of the Good News of Jesus Christ. The questions I ask myself in each of the commentaries below are always: "Why was this Good News at the time of Jesus? Why is this Good News for us, here and now?" I pray you will be able to use these offerings to respond to those questions in your own context.

Note that in Pentecost, the Sundays are numbered as "after" Pentecost Sunday. So the first Sunday after Pentecost, Trinity Sunday, is Pentecost 1. And because the dates of Easter and Pentecost change each year, so do the number of Sundays that follow Pentecost.

Eating with unclean hands

Pentecost 15
September 2, 2018
Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23
"The struggle that every community in every age - including our own - faces is how can the 'tradition of the elders,' which has given us our identity, now be changed so that what was good in it - the desire to live according to the will of God - can actually be expressed in our current circumstances."

Even dogs eat the crumbs

Pentecost 16
September 9, 2018
Mark 7:24-37
"The racial and religious differences between Jesus and the Gentile woman are unchanged. But what has changed is that courage and caring for a daughter have been shown to be acceptable to God - even when they come from a Gentile heart; even when they come from a woman's heart; even when they come from the heart of a woman who has publically shamed herself by being out alone, by speaking to a man, and by daring to speak back to a man."

Those who follow me must take up their cross

Pentecost 17
September 16, 2018
Mark 8:27-38
"Poor old Peter. In verse 30, he calls Jesus, the Messiah. Three short verses later, Jesus is calling Peter, 'Satan.'"

 

Whoever welcomes one such child ...

Pentecost 18
September 23, 2018
Mark 9:30-37
"The disciples response of not understanding, being afraid to ask, and then being silent echoes the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden. Their initial reaction of being afraid to ask breaks communication with Jesus; breaks their relationship with him. It leaves them with only themselves to talk to, and it leads them to do things for which they feel ashamed to name."

A call to lyalty, not purity

Pentecost 19
September 30, 2018
Mark 9:38-50
"The Good News in this parable is ... that Jesus knows we will stumble and expects us to show up in Heaven lame and scarred by the inner struggle to be true to our loyalty to God as frail and faulty human beings."

What God has joined

Pentecost 20
October 7, 2018
Mark 10:2-16
"Jesus is being tested for his detailed knowledge of the Torah and his ability to demonstrate wisdom in his application of it to real life issues."

Do not worry about your life

Thanksgiving Sunday (Canada)
October 7, 2018
Matthew 6:25-33
"The opposite of worry / fear / anxiety is faith - or better still - trust."

 

You lack one thing

Pentecost 21
October 14, 2018 
Mark 10:17-31
"The only way to 'inherit' eternal life is to be the eldest son of the one who owns eternal life. Everyone else can only receive eternal life as a freely given gift from the owner."

You must be slave of all

Pentecost 22
October 21, 2018
Mark 10:35-45
"Jesus says that his followers are to treat one another as they would treat their own family: meeting each other's needs without concern for pay back."

Lord, let me see

Pentecost 23
October 28, 2018
Mark 10:46-52
"Notice that Mark says Bartimaeus is told that it is 'Jesus of Nazareth' - which identifies Jesus only by his low cast, peasant, hillbilly status by birth - but Bartimaeus SHOUTS out, 'Jesus, Son of David' - identifying Jesus by his God-given status."

(c) Athanasius Clark, iconograms.org

All Saints
November 1, 2018
John 11:32-44
"Using this text for All Saints is problematic because it confuses RESTORED life with RESURRECTED life."

 

The greatest commandment is ...

Pentecost 24
November 4, 2018
Mark 12:28-34
"No one in that crowd of both opponents and admirers would dispute, "Love of God," as the greatest commandment. But when Jesus goes on and links it to, "Love of neighbour as oneself," he has lifted attachment to the welfare of one's neighbours above all other duties and obligations."

She has given all she had to live on

Pentecost 25
November 11, 2018
Mark 12:38-44
"The widow who has given "all she had to live on" foreshadows the coming contribution of Jesus to his mission of proclaiming God's Good News of non-violent justice in the face of Rome's violent injustice. Like the widow, Jesus holds nothing back."

(c) KIMO, www.kimostudios.com

Pentecost 26
November 18, 2018
Mark 13:1-8
"Whatever system of government may currently be in power, God's Royal Proclamation comes as a Word that evokes an accounting from - and possibly a confrontation with - earthly rulers. And as Jesus simply observes: don't be led astray, earthly rulers never accept accounting kindly. There will be resistance."

Source: Cerezo Barredo

Pentecost 27
Reign of Christ or Christ the King
November 25, 2018
John 18:33-37
"Thus the tension in the Gospels is not between Jesus and 'the Jews.' The tension is between Jesus the Galilean hillbilly proclaimer of the coming of God's Kingdom of non-violent justice and the Judean snobbish elites who are also collaborators of the Roman Empire of violent non-justice."

Do not worry about your life

Thanksgiving Sunday (USA)
November 25, 2018
Matthew 6:25-33
"The opposite of worry / fear / anxiety is faith - or better still - trust."

Luke 23:33-43 - Updated

What sort of Saviour can't even save himself? "IF you are the Messiah...?" The word "if" gets us thinking - or rather doubting. It shifts us from relating with Jesus to reasoning about him; from love to logic; from our hearts to our heads. But salvation is not about changing bad circumstances to good ones - coming down off a cross. Salvation is knowing and trusting without a shred of doubt, without a second's hesitation that we abide in God's love - no matter what the circumstances - even on a cross.

Click here to read the updated Holy Textures explanation of Luke 23:33-43.

David Ewart,
www.holytextures.com,
Short, easy to use, faith inspiring explanations of the meaning of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for your sermon, homily, bible study, or reflection.

Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Acknowledgement in oral presentations is not required.
Otherwise, please acknowledge source as, "David Ewart, www.holytextures.com."

 

Luke 21:5-19 - Updated

Jesus doesn't promise us an easy life. Instead, he tells us the truth. And he promises us that the truth will set us free. I wonder how the words of today's passage have been true and freeing for us?

Click here for the updated Holy Textures explanation of Luke 21:5-19.

David Ewart,
www.holytextures.com,
Short, easy to use, faith inspiring explanations of the meaning of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for your sermon, homily, bible study, or reflection.

Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Acknowledgement in oral presentations is not required.
Otherwise, please acknowledge source as, "David Ewart, www.holytextures.com."

 

Luke 20:27-38 - Updated

Remember, in a couple of days, "resurrection" is going to be a life and death question for Jesus - not merely an interesting topic for discussion and debate. If your life depended on it, what would you say about resurrection?

Click here to read the updated Holy Textures explanation of Luke 20:27-38.

David Ewart,
www.holytextures.com,
Short, easy to use, faith inspiring explanations of the meaning of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for your sermon, homily, bible study, or reflection.

Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Acknowledgement in oral presentations is not required.
Otherwise, please acknowledge source as, "David Ewart, www.holytextures.com."

 

Luke 19:1-10 - Updated

One possible moral of this story is to realize that salvation does not require, nor result in, perfection. Salvation in this lifetime is a process - the healing and reconciling that is needed for creating right relationships within which compromised, impure, and sinful people - like us - can live within, in response to, and toward, the realm of God.

Click here to read the updated Holy Textures explanation of Luke 19:1-10.

David Ewart,
www.holytextures.com,
Short, easy to use, faith inspiring explanations of the meaning of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for your sermon, homily, bible study, or reflection.

Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Acknowledgement in oral presentations is not required.
Otherwise, please acknowledge source as, "David Ewart, www.holytextures.com."

 

Luke 6:20-31 - Updated

This is a great text to preach as a high calling to the character of Christian community. Preaching it as pre-conditions for being resurrected - that would be a mistake. Preaching it as a calling to live as those who have been raised from the dead - that would be a blessing.

Click here to read the updated Holy Textures explanation of Luke 6:20-31.

David Ewart,
www.holytextures.com,
Short, easy to use, faith inspiring explanations of the meaning of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for your sermon, homily, bible study, or reflection.

Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Acknowledgement in oral presentations is not required.
Otherwise, please acknowledge source as, "David Ewart, www.holytextures.com."

 

John 6:25-35 - Updated

The challenge for us is to SEE which things perish and which things endure, and to embed ourselves - to abide in, to focus our living on - the things that endure. Because only the things that endure truly satisfy, and only the things that endure bring true life.

Click here to read the updated Holy Textures explanation of John 6:25-35.

David Ewart,
www.holytextures.com,
Short, easy to use, faith inspiring explanations of the meaning of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John for your sermon, homily, bible study, or reflection.

Permission is granted for non-profit use of these materials.
Acknowledgement in oral presentations is not required.
Otherwise, please acknowledge source as, "David Ewart, www.holytextures.com."