During the fifth century AD, Britain ceased to be part of the Roman Empire and became a group of small warring territories, resulting in aggression against the populace. Slavery was a common fate for those captured in raids or warfare. It was into this context that a 16-year-old boy named Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who had attacked his family’s estate. They transported him to Ireland where he spent six years in captivity. During that…
We’ve read today in Exodus 20 one of the most world-shaking, world-changing texts ever written. Exodus 19 and 20 tell us that the skies were thundering and lightening and Mt Sinai was shaking and smoking and the people were trembling in the distance when the LORD God spoke today’s words. This is the only place in the Hebrew Bible where the text says that God spoke directly to the people of Israel without any intermediary, not through prophets, priests nor…
In our texts for this second Sunday in Lent, we encounter Peter rebuking Jesus and Jesus doing the same as he calls Peter and us not to focus on those things of the human world but to focus on the divine. To also ensure we are not looking away from the pain and suffering of Christ. Our text this week calls us to pay attention and not skip ahead. To tear down the barriers between us and our neighbor and see Christ within us and those we meet. To not look away.
Sometimes, we forget that we are called to name the evil in the world around us. Today’s Gospel reminds us that Jesus calls us in to name and claim those evils around us and ensure we aren’t missing those on the margins. Just as he spoke the name of the unclean spirit in the synagogue, we, too, must name the injustices of our times and work to uproot them. We are also being called to see those who are often left on the margins, those who might not be seen if we aren’t purposefully looking for them.