Preaching the Scriptures

  The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 10:25-37   Rule of Three I suspect you have heard of the old “rule of three.”   In storytelling, for example, it is often suggested that a listener finds triads more effective, more humorous, more satisfying.   And so there is a plethora, a profusion, an abundance, if you will, of stories in which we find three characters or three events or three items featured prominently.   Not only do listeners find the threes more satisfying, this predictable structure also makes it easier to remember the details of the story.   In the story of the Three Little Pigs, there are three little houses: one of straw, one of sticks, and one of bricks.   In the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, the porridge is too hot, too cold, and just right; the beds too hard, too soft, and, of course, just right.   Going back much further, in the Bible, in the book of Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego end up in the fiery...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Luke 10:25-37 The Wrong Question Every day we log on, or turn on the TV, or pick up the newspaper to find yet another bleeding, hurting, desperate person being passed by – a young black or blue body gunned down, a lonely gay or lesbian teen contemplating suicide, a desperate refugee longing to survive. And still the question rings out in our country, our culture, our world: “Who is my neighbor?” And it is always the wrong question. It is the wrong question because it is a question in search of an exception, an excuse, a reason not to love. It is the wrong question and we have to stop asking it. The lawyer in today's Gospel begins with a test. And the test quickly becomes something else all together. Because it always does. Jesus, I think, tries to make love very simple for us; but in doing so, it complicates it terribly. It seems simple because of the lack of distinction: love God and love people. There are no exceptions, no as...