[RCL] Exodus 14:19-31; Psalm 114 or Exodus 15:1b-11,20-21; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35 Have you ever heard this warning: Be careful what you pray for – you might get it. Watch out – you just might get what you are after. Here’s a prayer many of us pray at least once a week – forgive us…

[RCL]: Exodus 14:19-31; Psalm 114 or Exodus 15:1b-11, 20-21; Romans 14:1-12; Matthew 18:21-35 Have you ever heard this warning: Be careful what you pray for – you might get it. Watch out – you just might get what you are after. Here’s a prayer many of us pray at least once a week – forgive…

As you heard today’s gospel, did it make you uncomfortable—so that you shifted your weight from one foot to another, or perhaps gazed awkwardly into space? That parable Jesus tells does not pack a dose of sweet comfort. It challenges us outrageously in a spot where we are most tender: the trouble we have with…

You have to be taught to hate. Little boys do not stitch together their own Klansman robes. Young girls do not look longingly at vests in shop windows with visions of being a suicide bomber. Yes, children will readily turn sticks into swords and guns for their play. But they do not name someone as…

The Old Testament scholar Gerhard von Rad wrote: “Real forgiveness is not a purely interpersonal matter, but it reaches deeply into the relationship of men before God.” The three lectionary passages today, taken from the end of the book of Genesis, from St. Paul’s Letter to the Roman Christians, and from Matthew’s retelling of Jesus’…

Today is September 11, a date that will be remembered for generations yet to come. It is a date that Americans consider one of the most significant in the nation’s history. It is a date that is associated with other epic historic events such as the founding of the United States, the end of the…

And in anger the Lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do it to every one of you if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart. This is not good news for those of us who have trouble…

Peter came and said to Jesus, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but I tell you, seventy-seven times.” Matthew 18:21 [From almost the day she learned to walk, my daughter Elizabeth created an extension…