rick morley

A hard Gospel lesson today for many people (Mark 10:2-16). Two things about it: First, God takes the bond and covenant of marriage seriously. As the marriage liturgy says, “it is not to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly.” The spiritual union of marriage represents the union between God and God’s People. And so the dissolution of marriage says things, not only about the marriage, but about God’s relationship with us. Second, in Jesus’ day […]

You can imagine the eager sincerity with which the disciples approached Jesus to tell them that they stopped someone doing Jesus’ work in Jesus’ name, but who wasn’t a member of their group (Mark 938-50). They thought they had done a great thing! But, the ministry of Jesus doesn’t belong to us. It’s not ours to give or deny. It is God’s work, and though we may want to try and protect the church from […]

Ever catch someone in a moment of guilt? Been caught yourself? Of course you have. That’s what makes Jesus catching his disciples after arguing about who among them is the greatest so rich (Mark 9:30-37). They knew they shouldn’t be doing it! After all, Jesus had just been talking about the suffering that he was willing to endure on their behalf, and on behalf of the world. And here they are fighting over who’s “the best.” […]

After blogging the lectionary for years, I’m retooling this blog to be a resource for people in the pews. Each week I’ll provide a short piece on both tracks of the Old Testament Lessons, the New Testament Lesson, and the Gospel Lesson. Then I’ll offer some discussion questions and intergenerational challenges based on the lessons. It will be in blog form, so you could copy+paste into a bulletin, and in half-sheet PDF, so you could […]