Preaching the Scriptures

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 22:15-22 The Things that are God's You can almost hear Jesus' eyes roll in this Gospel. One might argue that we are perfecting the art, but partisan bickering and political entrapment are not inventions of the 21 st century. Were it not for Jesus' confrontational immediate response, we might be fooled into thinking that this is a sincere inquiry on the part of the Pharisees and Herodians, but there is nothing genuine about the question these political adversaries are asking Jesus. They are trying to drag him into that old soul-crushing abyss: the partisan divide. Politically savvy as they are, they know either answer, yes or no, has the potential to compromise his base of support. Now, every preacher has been told, at one time or another, to keep the politics out of the pulpit. It's just that the Bible is chock full of politics. It's not the politics we care about, but much of the Bible, including today...

The Rev. Jeremiah Williamson Matthew 22:15-22 Whose Image is This? It is said that one should not talk about certain topics in polite company: religion, politics, sex, and money.   I’m not sure we count as polite company, but, let's see how we're doing.   We talk about religion a lot here – and we should; we are a church.   And, the Church, the capital “C” Church, has spent a lot of time talking about sex – not my sex or your sex but the sex some other people might be having. They are not necessarily always helpful or gracious conversations; most of the time, they would be better described as arguments.   But nevertheless, we've talked some about sex.   Sex comes up and Church people have opinions.   Politics is a little complicated; what constitutes a political opinion or discussion is often subjective.   And while we honor the separation of Church and State, meaning we don't talk partisan politics or endorse political candidates from t...