Last week, in reflecting on the Parable of the Talents, we saw how it’s important not to take the master figure’s callous, ‘The rich get richer,’ attitude as Jesus’ stance on economics, as though he’s advocating a ‘trickle down’ economy or a ‘prosperity gospel’, in which wealth is a sign of God’s favour and poverty … Continue reading Generosity in God’s Kingdom: A Reflection on Matthew 25:31-46
I remember as a kid asking lots of big questions about the world’s injustices. Invariably, they’d be met with a shrug and a resigned “That’s just the way the world works.” True as that reply may have been, it’s also true that ‘the way the world works’ is killing us. And yet, far too many … Continue reading Breaking the Vicious Circle: A Reflection on Matthew 25.14-30
Over the past few weeks, we’ve been exploring the most important ways Christians have understood the atonement — what it was God was doing in Jesus of Nazareth ‘for us and for our salvation’ — throughout history. Now it’s time to put some of the pieces together and offer some concluding thoughts. The atonement is … Continue reading Atonement through the Ages: Final Thoughts
Today’s Gospel reading is the Parable of the Bridesmaids (traditionally better known as the Parable of the Foolish Virgins). Whenever I see it in the lectionary, I consider it like the sounding of a gong: it’s telling us that Advent is just around the corner, and that we’d better be ready. This is a passage … Continue reading Eyes Open: A Reflection on Matthew 25.1-13
Today we come to what is undoubtedly the most well-known and popular perspective on the atonement in Christianity today, substitutionary atonement, the belief that on the cross, Jesus took on himself the punishment from God that we deserved. It’s so common that for many contemporary Christians, questioning it is tantamount to questioning the faith itself. … Continue reading Christ our Substitute
