RCL: Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23; Psalm 125; James 2:1-10, [11-13], 14-17; Mark 7:24-37 “Sir, even the dogs under the table eat the children’s crumbs.” (Mark 7:28) Today our challenging Gospel lesson gives us pause and stirs up questions like: Where is the Good News? What is the Good News? For whom is the Good News?…

“A penny saved is a penny earned.” Is this in the Bible? I hope everyone is thinking—no! It’s a proverb, of course, but one of Benjamin Franklin’s, not from the Old Testament. However, it could have been one as the book of Proverbs is full of earthly and spiritual wisdom. We may think of proverbs…

“A penny saved is a penny earned.” Is this in the Bible? I hope everyone is thinking—no! It’s a proverb, of course, but one of Benjamin Franklin’s, not from the Old Testament. However, it could have been one as the book of Proverbs is full of earthly and spiritual wisdom. We may think of proverbs…

Where is the Good News in today’s gospel? Jesus casts out a demon and heals a deaf man, and that might be enough good news; but this lesson begins with a woman getting rough treatment from Jesus. In our current age of political spin, it’s hard to imagine why the author of Mark included this…

In today’s gospel, we hear that Jesus went about the countryside hoping to escape notice. And here and there he stops in a village or at a house. And as it appears, he stops not so much by deliberate intent, but by happenstance. At those seemingly random locations, he is reported as casting out demons,…

I suspect that “pushy” women do an enormous amount of the work that keeps the world going. One very popular pushy woman is Baroness Thatcher of Grantham, the first woman to serve as Britain’s Prime Minister. In the late 1980s, Mrs. Thatcher was often criticized for being “school-marmish” and “hectoring.” But if she were a…

There seem to be some people who just can’t stop talking. Others hardly say a word. Perhaps the experts can dig into the psyches of such people and clue us in as to why Bert blithers on, interrupts, and rarely listens, and Sheila occasionally grunts but that is all! Then there are those who pride…

The story is told of Saint Francis of Assisi going down to a village with one his monks. Their purpose was to preach the Gospel. When they arrived at the village they quickly engaged the local folk in conversation and passed their time helping the villagers with their work, sharing stories, entering into the life…

Today the Scriptures confront us with the power of Jesus to heal and our obligation to be the healing hands and presence of Jesus in our world. Considering the Scriptures, each of us can perhaps identify with one of the characters or recognize ourselves in some way: deafness, inability to speak clearly, maybe a sense…