August 18, Fire: a Sunday Scriptures blog

Jesus said to his disciples, “I have come to set the earth on fire.” These startling first words of next Sunday’s Gospel are found only in Luke’s Gospel. They echo the great Hebrew prophet Elijah, who called down fire on the prophets of the false god Baal (1 Kings 18:36ff).…

Continue reading

August 11, Time: a Sunday Scriptures blog

As a volunteer chaplain I visit a county hospital, and so each week I meet people who have just been diagnosed with a terminal illness. We all know theoretically that our life is finite, but when that knowing stops being theoretical, it is always a shock. When that happens to…

Continue reading