Waxing Theological

Over the last couple weeks now, I've been finding myself engaged in some good, old-fashioned apologetics and discussion.  You see... the Presbyterian Church has been making some news.  And some history. Oddly enough, I haven't really had a lot of the conversations I'd been expecting to have in the community - I consider myself fortunate, especially as other sister churches in our denomination are already seeing repercussions of the PC(USA)'s decision to redefine marriage as being between "two people, traditionally a man and a woman."  I haven't (knock on wood) received threats to the church .  I haven't had people storming my office demanding explanations or wondering when the first gay marriage ceremony was scheduled to happen.  Our local paper hasn't contacted me at all about the decision - which is interesting, given that the editor is a more conservative man who tends to cover some of these kinds of things in his editorials.  But I also haven...

Remember when I said that thing early in my blog about consistency? Yeah... about that. Seeing as I have had nothing posted here since September , I'm obviously more than a "bit behind" on updating this blog. However, I'm hoping to fix that - it'll mean a LOT of posting, so I'll try to space it out somewhat to keep it from being overwhelming. Sorry for the lapse - hopefully I can get back into the routine again! -Joel

9-21-14 (Proper 20, Ordinary 25 A Semi-Continuous) Exodus 16:2-15; Matthew 20:1-16                                                                     Unfair Wages     “It just isn’t fair!”     Fill in the blank after that point - older brother gets to stay up later than his younger siblings, the classmate whose parents bought him or her a car when they turned 16, but your own parents are making you borrow the station wagon when you want to go out with your friends, the co-worker who gets “employee of the month” because they kissed up to the boss while you did the extra work and they slacked off.     We’ve all f...

9-14-14 (Proper 19, Ordinary 24A Semi-Continuous) Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35                                                          Don’t Forget You’re Forgiven     Every month, our mailbox at home fills up with a handful of envelopes that I wish would just stop coming to us.  These envelopes are important - they’re not just junk mail that I can rip up and throw away, no matter how much I may want to.  Instead, they’re all emblazoned with this terrible, horrible, four letter word that we all probably know and tremble when we hear: BILL.  It’s that time again - there’s the phone bill, the car bill, the student loan bills, the insurance bills, the credit card whose balance nev...

9-7-14 (Proper 18, Ordinary 23 A Semicontinuous) Exodus 12:1-14; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20                                                                               Ready or Not     It was the first recorded instance of “fast food” in the Bible.  As families gathered around the table on that first Passover evening, they gathered with girded loins - they had their loose clothes tied up around their legs to help them move more quickly.  They had their sandals on their feet and they had staffs in their hands, ready to move at a moment’s notice.  Without the time to bake p...

8-31-14 (Ordinary 22/Proper 17A - Semicontinuous) Exodus 3:1-15; Matthew 16:21-28                                                                          The Experience     One of the mentors at our gathering in Louisville told a story this week that really captivated me as I reflected on this week’s readings. Photo Credit: Tanya Alexander (freeimages.com)      He told us about a boy who went with his family to Mt. Rainier.  The little boy was excited to climb the mountain with his family, but as they came to the trailhead at the summit, he started to read the sign with the legal notic...

8-24-14 (Proper 16/Ordinary 22 A, Semi-Continuous) Exodus 1:8-2:10; Matthew 16:13-20                                                                      Identity Crisis     Identity is a huge deal in the Bible.  And it’s interesting to note the various ways in which people’s identities play a significant role throughout the scriptures.  Stories of mistaken identity, false identities, and even new identities are crucial defining moments in the story of the Bible.  People and places are give names, or even given new names, that have particular meaning and significance to a major event or situation.  Abram and Sarai are ...