Waxing Theological

10-21-18 (Proper 24/Ordinary 29B, Semi-Continuous) Job 38:1-7, 34-41; Mark 10:35-45 You Can’t Always Get What You Want In this day and age, we’ve gotten pretty used to knowing that we can pretty much always get what we want.  Our business models are even often structured around this concept - the idea that “the customer is always right,” even though anyone who has worked in retail knows this is all too often the farthest thing from the truth.  Think about the slogans that have defined some of our different restaurants and businesses: Burger King’s “Have It Your Way,” the old Domino’s guarantee of “30 minutes or it’s free,” Visa’s “It’s everywhere you want to be,” or Holiday Inn’s “Pleasing People the World Over.”  We are a people who are used to instant gratification, to expecting to get what we have paid for and more.  I know that, all too often, when I’m looking at purchasing something or trying out a new place, I’ll turn to the customer reviews and se...

World Communion Sunday, 2018 Job 1:1, 2:1-10; Mark 10:2-16 Peace and Foolishness A few years ago, I shared about the history of World Communion Sunday - that it was a time when the world was in a bit of turmoil after World War Two and the Shadyside Presbyterian church in Pittsburgh wanted to bring people together across denominational lines and across the borders of countries and seas. It seems that today we again seem to be in a similar situation, where we need to remember that we are not Presbyterian, Baptist, Catholic, Republican, Democrat, Libertarian, or Green, but that we are instead beloved children of God. It seems that we as a country have always sort of been in turmoil. From fighting the British for our Independence, to fighting Native Americans and the atrocities that went along with displacing millions of people, to the Civil War to the women’s suffrage movement, to the civil rights movement, to both world wars, Korea, Vietnam, Afghanistan and Iraq. Even today w...

9/30/18 (Proper 21/Ordinary 26 B, Semi-Continuous) James 5:13-20; Mark 9:38-50 For and Against “If you’re not for us, then you’re against us.” This is the phrase we’re more familiar with, and we see it lived out all around us.  For example, there are quite a few folks in this sanctuary right now who have been very gracious with this pastor for being a fan of my Pittsburgh professional sports teams… but if I were to walk in next Sunday wearing Jayhawks apparel, I’d be sent home and told not to come back until I could find something more appropriate to wear. This last week, we have been inundated , even overwhelmed, with this kind of “for or against” messaging and tribalism, and as we move closer and closer to November, that messaging is only bound to intensify.  So it was both provoking and refreshing this week to come across this passage in Mark’s Gospel in which Jesus turns that idea on its head.  As we pick up immediately where we left off from...