Doing Church during COVID-19 is a challenge. I recently had the opportunity to reflect on Matthew 14 at Genesis Church in Coralville Iowa. Jesus’ feeding the multitude teaches us not only about his power but also about our responsibilities during these difficult days.
An Invalid and the Validation of Jesus in John 5
I like comedies better than tragedies. Stories with warm, fuzzy endings where they all live happily ever after get me every time. I shy away from stories that end in defeat, death-beds, and despair. What about you? There are lots of warm, fuzzy stories in the Bible—the grand epic or meta-narrative that we call the Bible is the greatest comedy of them all. But there are some tragic episodes in the biblical saga of redemption, episodes like the one we find in John 5. Evidently we need tragedies too.
George Floyd, the Samaritan Woman, and the Mission of God
The brutal killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis and other recent racially-centered incidents have raised tensions in the USA to the boiling point. Racial animus is a sad part of American history—the “melting pot” can get very ugly. The story of Jesus meeting the Samaritan woman in John 4 shows that we can overcome racial prejudice if we focus on God’s plan to unite people from all the branches of the human family in true worship through the Spirit sent by Jesus. All humans were originally made in the image of God, and God is at work today through the good news about Jesus to create a new humanity that worships God together in Spirit and truth, not in isolated ethnic enclaves.
Nicodemus and his Kin as a Pastoral Problem
Nicodemus is not just another leader of Israel who ganged up on Jesus. He’s a complicated guy whose story leaves us with questions. His kin are still to be found in churches today, leaving pastors with difficult soul-care questions.
Easter Isn’t Over: Learning about Life with Martha, Mary, and Lazarus
Images of an empty tomb, viewed “from the outside in,” are common. Like the first followers of Jesus, we look into the empty tomb as spectators of a historical event. But there’s more to the resurrection than this. We also need to picture the resurrection “from the inside out,” as participants in its power. The resurrection transforms us internally when we open ourselves to God in faith. We need to think of ourselves as looking out of the empty tomb of our past life toward our new life with Christ. We’re not just watching what happened to someone else a long time ago, we are sharing in that experience today. We have risen with Christ!
Following Jesus through Passion Week
The Gospels spend a proportionately huge amount of time on Passion Week for a reason. There is no gospel apart from the cross and the empty tomb. For those who have decided to follow Jesus, there can be no turning back from the way of the cross. Followers of Jesus must follow him through this week that climaxes all four Gospels.