We want to be prepared for disaster. We stockpile food and clean water, learn survival skills, build bunkers. Well, I don’t, but some people do. Disaster-preparedness is seen as a positive good in our society, and maybe it is, but it’s worth asking what it costs us. Jesus is very confusing about preparedness in this … Continue reading Luke 21:1-38 Be Unprepared
As Jesus teaches in the temple, many of Luke’s themes of power and control, and the way that these things contrast with the dream of the transformation of the world, come to the fore. It’s no accident that John the Baptist’s name comes back into the narrative. As you’ll remember from the beginning of Chapter … Continue reading Luke 20:1-47 Beware the Scribes
If I could look through the eyes of God, I would see each person completely. I would know their sorrows and their fears, and, tellingly, all their little mundane moments. I would know the smell of them and the way their body feels when standing, and would ride the currents of worry and joy that … Continue reading Luke 10:21-42 There is need for only one thing
Let’s pause for a moment and take stock of just how radical things are about to get. Jesus is beginning to articulate the overthrow of systems - both outer systems of oppression, and inner systems of spiritual complacency and false allegiance. From the beginning of Luke’s Gospel, we’ve heard about the mighty being brought down … Continue reading Luke 5:17-39 New Wine Skins
Two events led me to start thinking about, praying with, and making art in response to the Song of Songs. The first was a Bible study during a clergy quiet day. We were reading Jesus’s Parable of the Dishonest Manager (Luke 16:1-13). As we sat in a circle, annoyed and shocked that Jesus would tell … Continue reading Who will I love, and how will I love them well?
KPB Stevens 