The One Unchosen

One day Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem when he is approached by ten men who had a highly contagious skin condition known back then as leprosy. They approached him but kept their distance. This was because for a long time leprosy was thought to be highly contagious. We know now that it isn’t. If what the...

Tamar and Being Caught in Adultery

There is a story in the Bible about a woman who is caught having illicit sexual relations outside of marriage. The charge is undeniable, the guilt unquestionable, and the penalty indisputable: death. And thus she is condemned. But in an odd and surprising twist, her accuser and the man with whom the...

Grace Unbalanced

Something interesting happens whenever I talk about grace, forgiveness, and acceptance. People push back. As much as we like those things, as much as we need those things, as much as we realize that they are central to our faith as Christians, we seem to want to qualify them. To put an asterisk by them....

Blaming the Victim: Rethinking the Samaritan Woman

The typical reading of Jesus’ encounter with the Woman at the Well (John 4:5-30) presents her as a “loose” woman, a serial divorcee (five times!) who is currently shacking up with a man in an illicit unmarried relationship. Because of her well-deserved reputation for immorality she is shunned by all the...

How to Know that you Really Know Something

It’s maddening when a person answers a question with another question. A time or two is all right, but it’s frustrating when they do it all the time. Add this to the reasons that Jesus can be quite frustrating. I read somewhere that in the gospels Jesus was asked 183 questions and only gave 3 answers while...

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