[RCL] Amos 7:7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37 Flashing through the Bible and beyond is a lightning bolt known as prophetic ministry. What prophetic ministry does, according to Bible scholar Walter Brueggemann, is generate “a consciousness and perception alternative to the consciousness and perception of the dominant culture around us.” This is not a…

[RCL]: Amos 7:7-17; Psalm 82; Colossians 1:1-14; Luke 10:25-37 Today we hear a very familiar parable, the parable of the Good Samaritan. Many great preachers have preached on this story; one of these great preachers was the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  The day before Dr. King was assassinated, he gave his last speech…

On August 28, 1963, The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stood before 250,000 people on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC and delivered what would become one of the most famous speeches of the 20th century: his “I Have a Dream” speech. In it, he called for civil rights and economic protections…

There once was a run-down coffee shop in a neighborhood that was known for being dangerous. One day, an Episcopal priest came in to get some coffee on his way to somewhere else. He sat down to wait, busying himself with the paper, not paying attention to a man in the opposite corner who was…

Today we have before us what is perhaps the most familiar story Jesus ever told: the parable of the Good Samaritan. Hearing it again might cause us to wonder, Is there anything new in this story that we haven’t already thought about or heard preached about? Hasn’t it been worn smooth? Hasn’t the parable lost…

In the story of the Good Samaritan that we just heard, where do the different characters end up? The robbers have done their foul deed and have walked off stage with whatever they stole from the traveler they attacked. The priest and the Levite have each continued on the way to Jericho after overlooking the…

First, a short instruction, and then, a short story. The instruction may not be necessary for many of you, but for those who may not be familiar with the Myers Briggs Personal Style Inventory, a brief explanation of what this “Inventory” is all about would probably be helpful. The Myers Briggs “Inventory” is a way…

Americans who have not lived in another country for any length of time, do not realize that, in spite its faults, the United States is a nation that obeys laws. The ultimate example is the Civil Rights Law of 1964 that altered profoundly the way we treat each other. Where even the churches had failed…

This is a remarkable story. Jesus turns everything upside down. The man who asked him the critical question was not satisfied with Jesus’ very simple, very clear, and very traditional answer. “Love God and love your neighbor” is very simple. It is ancient. The man, though, was not going to settle for that. He wanted…