ὀλίγοις ἀρρώστοις ἐπιθεὶς τὰς χεῖρας ἐθεράπευσεν Mark 6.5b, SBL Greek Testament “Laying His hands on a few sickly people, He healed them.” If this is a record of what happened in your church last Sunday, you are probably still buzzing with excitement – or shock, depending on what you are used to. But you areContinue reading “Too proud to be blessed”
Monthly Archives: June 2026
Legion
Then Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”“My name is Legion,” he replied, “for we are many.” Mark 5.9, NIV At the end of a long day of teaching, Jesus tells the disciples they are going to go to the other side of the Sea. On the way they suffer an unexpected storm, which IContinue reading “Legion”
The Kingdom is like an aggressive weed
Too far? Ask any California Park Ranger or conservationist about Brassica nigra, and they are likely to give you an earful; whether it is the offshore islands like Catalina, or the Coachella Valley, this plant is supplanting (haha) rare native species. And yet B. nigra is the subject of a parable Jesus told, to representContinue reading “The Kingdom is like an aggressive weed”
Keep the big feet out of the platter
He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernelContinue reading “Keep the big feet out of the platter”
Mind the Gaps
When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables so that,“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,and ever hearing but neverContinue reading “Mind the Gaps”
Seeing the Kingdom 