This parable as reported by Matthew has some powerful images that have influenced our thinking and our language profoundly. The word talanto (singular) and talanta (plural) in the koine Greek (the Greek of the New Testament writers), represented, according to scholars, fifteen years’ wages of one person’s labor. Somewhere else it says that it was worth $1,000. So, for his time,…

We are approaching the end of the Christian year. As always, the Gospel lessons focus on the end of things and the return of Jesus. This teaching, sometimes called apocalyptic, is always associated with this time of the church calendar. Many believers fervently await the coming of Christ in glory. Those of us in more…

You are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brethren. He who is greatest among you shall be your servant. For whatever reason, those who organized our lectionary readings for Sunday mornings have too often cut a passage short, often resulting in making it impossible to truly understand…

Word and sacrament are at the heart of our worship and our life together as Christians. Today’s Gospel brings these two elements together in a very bold way. Our sacramental life together is given by God out of love for us. The Word of God is given to us so that we may know God…

The bad boys were trying to trap Jesus. Actually, in the eyes of the society, they were supposed to be the good guys. They were the brightest and best. The Pharisees were people who observed all of the traditional standards and rituals of Judaism. They tithed. They were compassionate. They were moral. They were at…