Tag: faith
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Faith Works through Love
Galatians 5:2-6 – 6/25/2026 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love. Galatians 5:6 There is a caricature of Paul, especially among Lutherans and other Protestants, that in emphasizing faith alone as justifying and necessary for salvation, he leaves no room for…
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Leaving Your Peace
Matthew 10:5-23 – 6/24/2026 As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it, but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. Matthew 10:12-13 (NRSVue) I cannot remember ever hearing this particular verse commented on. Jesus is giving instructions to the twelve whom…
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How Not to Read Scripture
Jeremiah 26:1-12 – 6/23/2026 It may be that they will listen and will turn from their evil way, that I may change my mind about the disaster that I intend to bring on them because of their evil doings. Jeremiah 26:3 (NRSVue) Though there are many ways to read scripture, some of those interpretive frameworks…
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Lost in Translation
Micah 7:1-7 – 6/22/2026 Their hands are skilled to do evil; the official and the judge ask for a bribe, and the powerful dictate what they desire; thus they [weave it]. Micah 7:7 (NRSVue, alternate translation) I like the NRSV and its updated edition that came out recently. The translation is scholarly and readable in…
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The Subjective Side of Faith
Matthew 10:24-39 – 6/21/2026 – The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost Those who find their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it. Matthew 10:39 (NRSVue) Some Scripture is straightforward to interpret or comment on. “Thou shalt not kill” for example is an easy one. At the surface…
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Showing One’s True Self
Luke 11:53-12:3 – 6/20/2026 Whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops. Luke 12:3 (NRSVue) Jesus warns against the hypocrisy of religious leaders who preach and teach one thing and do the opposite. Why? It’s all…
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The Eternity of God’s Suffering
Hebrews 2:5-9 – 6/18/2026 We do see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. Hebrews 2:9 (NRSVue) This verse from Hebrews presents us with an…
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The Anti-Sacrament
Proverbs 4:10-27 – 6/17/2026 For [evildoers] eat the bread of wickedness and drink the wine of violence. Proverbs 4:17 (NRSVue) Today’s Hebrew Bible reading in the Revised Common Lectionary has a verse reminiscent of the Sacrament of Holy Communion. In a section that exhorts the reader to follow the path of good and reject the…
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Where did the Lutheran Prophets Go?
1 Samuel 3:1-9 – 6/16/2026 The word of the Lord was rare in those days; no [prophetic] vision [broke forth]. 1 Samuel 3:1 (NRSVue, translation corrected) When God called Samuel in the sanctuary, it was at time when the biblical narrator says there were no prophetic revelations that “broke forth.” It’s unclear whether this means…
Dionysus on a Bike 