Lent 3C

[RCL] Exodus 3:1-15; Psalm 63:1-8; 1 Corinthians 10:1-13; Luke 13:1-9 The enslaved Israelites suffered under the Egyptians’ hands. Those Galileans whose blood Pilate mingled with sacrifices certainly suffered. Those who were killed by the tower of Siloam suffered a brutal tragedy. Humanity suffers. That suffering is common – an inextricable part of our human experience…

Odds are that a quick scan of the commentaries and preaching resources written on Luke, chapter 13, would produce a common refrain: “Be careful with this passage!” The warning is a good one, as this passage causes the faithful to ask some of the most common and complicated questions in all of Christendom. They are…

What did they do to deserve that? Jesus knew questions like this were on people’s minds when they came to tell him horrible news: Pilate – yes, the same Pontius Pilate who oversaw the crucifixion of Jesus – slaughtered some Galilean Jews. Making Pilate’s appalling action even more offensive is that he did this terrible…

In the movie “The American President,” Annette Bening plays Sydney Ellen Wade, an environmental lobbyist. Her job is to convince the White House to advocate for higher automobile emission standards. During her first trip to the White House, she meets with A.J. MacInerney, the President’s Chief of Staff, played by Martin Sheen. During their meeting,…

When the God who declares from a burning bush, “I AM who I AM. … Tell them I AM sent you!” becomes flesh and dwells among us, life gets very interesting. Pilate slaughters a group of Galileans. A tower in Siloam kills eighteen others. Do you think they are worse sinners than anyone else, asks…

Perhaps in a reaction to a period of history in which it was thought good not to over-praise each other, we’ve spent a generation “affirming” each other. It can be difficult, particularly when we are asked to affirm someone who has just bored us to death with the most awful twaddle. Lent is a difficult…

It’s what people call “the good life” — a steady job, a comfortable home, loving friends and family. Moses has it all once he settles down in Midian. The years go by. Moses seems content with small pleasures and accomplishments. He never talks about his past or dreams about his future. He lacks any true…

In today’s reading from the book of Exodus, we find Moses minding his own business, tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro. Suddenly an amazing thing happens to him. The angel of the Lord appears to him in a flame of fire out of a bush, and he looked. Although the bush was blazing, it…

At this particular time of the year we continue to hear how much God loves us and forgives us, no matter what. During this season of Lent, we remember our Baptism, the time when we were marked and sealed as Christ’s own forever. We also realize that we are to support each child, each person…