Irreverently Reverend

  Ordinary Time:  Series on the vows of The United Methodist Church 43  “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  44  But I say to you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,  45  so that you may be children of your Father in heaven, for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the righteous and on the unrighteous.  46  For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  47  And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same?  48  Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect. 6  “Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2  “So whenever you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as...

  Ordinary Time 21  Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22  “The eye is the lamp of the body. Therefore, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light.  23  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how terrible that darkness will be!  24  No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be loyal to the one and have contempt for the other. You cannot serve God and wealth. 25  “Therefore, I say to you, don’t worry about your life, what you’ll eat or what you’ll drink, or about your body, what you’ll wear. Isn’t life more than food and the body more than clothes?  26  Look at the birds in the sky. They don’t sow seed or harvest grain or gather crops into barns. Yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Aren’t you worth much more than they are?  27  Who among you by worrying can add a single mome...

  Ordinary Time The vision of Isaiah son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah. 10 Hear the word of the Lord, / you rulers of Sodom! Listen to the teaching of our God, / you people of Gomorrah! 11 What to me is the multitude of your sacrifices? / says the Lord; I have had enough of burnt offerings of rams / and the fat of fed beasts; I do not delight in the blood of bulls / or of lambs or of goats. 12 When you come to appear before me, / who asked this from your hand? / Trample my courts no more! 13 Bringing offerings is futile; / incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and calling of convocation— / I cannot endure solemn assemblies with iniquity. 14 Your new moons and your appointed festivals / my soul hates; / they have become a burden to me; / I am weary of bearing them. 15 When you stretch out your hands, / I will hide my eyes from you; even thoug...

  Seventh Sunday of Easter 9  If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater, for this is the testimony of God that he has borne concerning his Son.  10  Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son.  11  And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.  12  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life. 13  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.   (ESV)               I’ll admit, this has not been my favorite passage to work on unpacking.   It’s short, it’s repetitive, and it shades a bit too closely to...