Posts by Grant Herndon
Glad I’m Not Like Those Poor Sinners!
Haven’t we all had moments where we at least privately think we are “all that” in some way and that others don’t measure up? In a vivid parable in today’s Gospel reading, Jesus speaks to those of us who are like Pharisees, convinced of our own righteousness while despising everyone else. He provides a piercing…
Read MoreTo Everything There Is a Season
In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus asks the disciples who people are saying He is, and then He asks them who they say that He is. Peter answers that He is the Christ of God. Curiously, Jesus then “rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.” One might assume Jesus would be…
Read MoreScrub Up Your Inner Pharisee
In this week’s Gospel reading, Jesus really gets after the scribes and Pharisees, calling them out for their pretense and greed and lack of authenticity in the last of his public discourses. He continues an excoriating rant covering the entire 23rd chapter – a lecture we would hate to receive from a parent or a…
Read MoreDo not Pull the Weeds Until the Harvest!
In today’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus has been speaking to the crowds in parables from a boat at the seaside. Then He discusses with the disciples the reason for using parables. He gives them another parable to help them understand the implications of choices we make, but more importantly the potential for…
Read MoreSon of God Speaks with Authority, Causing Commotion
In this Sunday’s reading from the Gospel of Matthew, Christ continues to teach the crowds on the mountainside. He chastises them by saying that those who pay him lip service (call him “Lord, Lord”) but fail to do the will of the Father will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Even those who do mighty…
Read MoreThe Holy Spirit: The Gift Who Keeps on Giving
In today’s Gospel reading, we are privy to Jesus’ moving discussions with the apostles on Holy Thursday as he continues to prepare them for his departure from them and for what is to follow. A Gift Sensing their great anxiety, He promises not to leave them orphans. He announces a gift that will sustain them…
Read MoreEaster Morning: A Scene That Resonates Twenty Centuries Later
Jesus’ Appearance to Mary Magdalene: In today’s gospel reading, we are invited into a remarkable and poignant scene on Easter morning. After the conclusion of the sabbath the night before, Mary Magdalene and two other women purchased spices to anoint our Lord’s crucified body. But when they came to the sepulcher very early in the…
Read MoreJesus Does Not Throw the Baby Out with the Bath Water
In this week’s gospel reading, Jesus lays out in the Sermon on the Mount a new discipline for mankind. Given his primarily Jewish audience, Matthew records that Jesus makes clear that His teachings on the mountain do not replace the existing commandments and Torah (Law of Moses), but rather, His teachings aim for a more…
Read MoreHe Does Not Follow Us
In today’s gospel reading, John tells Jesus that the apostles had seen someone driving out demons in Jesus’ name and tried to prevent him “because he does not follow us.” Jesus replies that the person should not be prevented from doing good in His name “for whoever is not against us is for us.” It…
Read MoreAn Ordinary Saturday
In today’s Gospel reading, something extraordinary happens in the most routine and ordinary of settings. By now we know this is the trademark of our Lord. In a very mundane setting amongst neighbors in his hometown, Jesus drops a blockbuster statement that we are still digesting two thousand years later. He announces to the neighbours…
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