Another way of looking at this scripture is to compare and contrast the different way the Jews and Jesus treated gentiles and tax collectors. He did not judge them. He loved them, ate with them and hung out with them. Jesus said to the self-righteous, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are going into the kingdom of God ahead of you, (Self righteous religious leaders).” Read more
Third Sunday in Lent
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Mar 13, 2014
John 4:5-42 The Samaritan woman said to Him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” Here is a woman who is rejected by her peers. She has had four husbands and the man she is living with is not her husband. We must realize what it meant to be a divorced woman in those days. Women did not divorce their husbands. Only husbands could divorce. Women were considered “property”. The tenth Commandment was not to covet a man’s donkey, property, or wife. The woman was among those included as donkeys and other property. All that was needed was a signed piece of scrap paper and saying three times, “I divorce you.” That was it. In other words, she had been rejected by four husbands. They might have married her for the physical reason. When they got through with her they dumped her back to the market. Read more
Second Sunday in Lent
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Mar 06, 2014
NOW HEAR THIS! This is Jesus speaking AND YOU BETTER LISTEN. Who can argue with that? Yes, but what if it is not Jesus speaking? What if it is just some other person telling us it is Jesus speaking? They say, “We know what we are speaking about. It is in the Bible. We have seen it, yet you do not receive our testimony. What kind of jerk are you? Do you know who you are talking to?” Yet another “that does it” moment! The fight over who is right about the Bible and who is wrong is just beginning. Read more
Year C Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost Meditation
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Aug 08, 2013
The question of biblical authority is ultimately a question of Christology. What we believe about Jesus will ultimately determine what we believe about the Bible. There are two ways of discerning what we believe about Jesus in Scripture. We can come in with our minds made up about the Bible being the Word of God, or we can believe Jesus is the Word of God. If we believe the Bible is the Word of God than Jesus must fit into our concept of who the Bible says He is. If we believe Jesus is the Word of God then the Bible must fit into what He says it is. Read more
Sixth Sunday of Easter
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Apr 25, 2013
Sixth Sunday of Easter. When you read the commentaries they center on “keeping the word if we love Jesus”. Their definitions of the word can be all over the place. If we want to know what is John’s definition of the “word” all we need to do is go back to the first Chapter. “In the beginning was the Word. The Word was with God, the Word was God.” John’s definition of the Word is the “One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Read more
Third Sunday of Easter
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Apr 04, 2013
Third Sunday of Easter. Questions at Easter time: After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberius. What is Peter doing with some of the Apostles way up in Tiberias? They were just in the upper room at Jerusalem. Now they are far away at the top of the Sea of Galilee. Read more
Second Sunday of Easter
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Mar 28, 2013
Second Sunday of Easter. "Peace be with you.” We try to change our worldly life to feel God’s Presence. Godly feeling God’s Presence changes our life. We try to be peaceful to feel His Peace. In feeling the Peace He has for and in us, we become Peaceful. Read more
Second Sunday After Epiphany
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Jan 10, 2013
The problem in the Church today is our ignorance of spirituality. When we do not know something and we do not know we do not know it, we tend to think we know it. What the church does not seem to know is how to abide in Jesus. Read more
Pentecost XXI Mark 10:17-31
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Oct 11, 2012
Mark 10:35-45. "Grant us to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your glory." Worldly thinking of James and John is that they want to sit on the right and left hand of Jesus in His glory. Godly understanding knows that He is spiritually already in His glory. They already are sitting on His right and left Hand. The grace of the Presence of God has already been given to all of us. All of us are not always in this Presence. It is for those for whom it has been prepared. Read more
Easter II John 20:19-31. “Peace Be With You”
Posted by Paul Edwards (Fr. Paul) on Apr 05, 2012
As we read this scripture with rational thinking (in our head), we look for the evidence of the resurrection. We go right on to the following words, “after he said this, he showed them his hands and his side.” This is the physical evidence we are looking for. With Spiritual understanding, you have to be quick for this one or it will go right past your heart and up and over to your head. This is the Jesus way. Read more
Latest Posts
-
Year A Pentecost XXIV
- Nov 13, 2014 -
Year A Pentecost XXIV Bottom Line
- Nov 10, 2014 -
Year A Pentecost XXIII
- Nov 06, 2014 -
Year A Pentecost XXIII Bottom Line
- Nov 03, 2014 -
Year A Pentecost XXII
- Oct 30, 2014
Latest Comments
-
I am interested in finding out…
6 years, 8 months ago -
I have built a Chartres Labyrinth…
7 years, 8 months ago -
Feelings of guilt grip many who…
7 years, 9 months ago -
I truly needed to read this today!…
8 years, 11 months ago -
These designs are all outdated.…
9 years ago
Blog Archives
- November 2014 (4)
- October 2014 (9)
- September 2014 (9)
- August 2014 (8)
- July 2014 (9)
- June 2014 (9)
- May 2014 (9)
- April 2014 (8)
- March 2014 (9)
- February 2014 (8)
- January 2014 (9)
- December 2013 (9)
Most Used Tags
- Fr. Paul (150)
- Lectionary (141)
- Meditations (139)
- Bottom Line (121)
- Year A (106)
- Year C (102)
- grace (75)
- Presence (50)
- Pentecost (49)
- spiritual grace (46)
- literal religion (46)
- legalism (41)
- Year B (35)
- spiritual understanding (25)
- Easter (22)
- rational thinking (18)
- Epiphany (16)
- war on legalism (15)
- Jesus (13)
- follow your heart (12)
- Wisdom (12)
- Lent (12)
- rational head (12)
- Peace (12)
- Grace (11)
Most Used References to Scripture
- John 1:1 (28)
- John 15:5 (27)
- John 13:34 (25)
- John 1:14 (20)
- Matthew 22:37 (14)
- Matthew 22:37-40 (8)
- Romans 12:2 (7)
- John 16:33 (7)
- John 1:17 (6)
- John 20:19-31 (5)
- 2 Corinthians 5:21 (4)
- John 8:23 (4)
- Galations 4:6 (4)
- Matthew 28:19 (4)
- John 20:1-18 (4)
- Psalm 146 (3)
- Matthew 15:21-28 (3)
- John 1:4 (3)
- Luke 14:1 (3)
- Psalm 99 (3)
- Psalm 16 (3)
- Luke 17:21 (3)
- John 1:10 (3)
- Romans 8:3 (3)
- Psalm 126 (3)