Jesus’s Debut

Jesus’s Sermon on the Mount was his first major teaching in public according to his biographer Matthew. In contemporary language, it was his debut, his launch party, his initial public offering.

Matthew tells us that Jesus had been healing “all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering from severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed” (4:24). Jesus imbedded himself with the down and out, and he offered them liberation.

Unsurprisingly, then, Jesus was attracting “large crowds” from all over Syria, Israel, and the surrounding region (4:25). People were traveling to see him. The enthusiasm around  Osho in the documentary Wild, Wild Country comes to mind. Jesus was quickly becoming a celebrity minister, a superstar.

So when Jesus goes on the public record, what does he say? What does Jesus consider most important for these “large crowds” to hear as his new ministry surges with success?

Perhaps we can reorient our priorities today around what is truly important based on Jesus’s message... Read More

Dear friends,

Andrew and Maryam Shadid graciously asked for me to officiate their beautiful wedding. With their permission, I’m sharing the homily below in hopes it would encourage others.

As always, I love hearing from you. Please don’t hesitate to drop a quick note or ask a question.

Yours,
Andrew

*****

Two thousand years ago, history changed forever. A revolution of self-giving love began in the heart of the human condition that opened the way to eternal life. And I believe that this ancient revolution shows us God’s design for holy marriage still today.

In occupied Bethlehem, under the shadow of a violent empire, Jesus was born to poor parents, Joseph and Mary. Before Jesus was born, his passionate mother sang a prophetic song about how her son would turn things upside down, bringing good news to the poor, hungry, and powerless.

And Mary was right. When he was just a little older than Andrew and Maryam, Jesus began preaching and embodying God’s love and justice for the poor, oppressed, and powerless... Read More

Dear friends,

I’m excited to write to you about my weekly newsletter I’m calling Stop & Think.

I write to help people stop and think, and thus to restart and live more thoughtful, loving, deeply human lives with others.

In her brilliant book The Life of the Mind, Hannah Arendt argued that genuine thinking is only truly possible when we are willing to interrupt our drive toward easy answers, simple solutions, and satisfied desires. The good life requires this paradoxical pause that opens fresh room for new questions, creative imagination, deep gratitude, and radical responsibility. Thus Arendt judged,

“All thinking demands a stop-and-think.”

Hannah Arendt, The Life of the Mind

Martin Luther King, Jr. anticipated Arendt’s vision of thinking in his classic book Strength to Love. Dr. King asked, “Who doubts that…toughness of mind is one of humanity’s greatest needs?” And yet he observed “an almost universal quest for easy answers and half-baked solutions.” According to King,

“Nothing pains some people more than having to think.