Matthew 10:26-39 always sounded strange to me, because I always pictured Jesus as sweet and smiling, maybe some kids crawling on him, preaching about God’s love and encouraging more peace. And yet in Matthew 10, Jesus announces, “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’” That doesn’t fit with the warm fuzzy image of Jesus we’ve put in our heads. What’s going on?…. [click on View Post above to keep reading]

In one of Jesus’ first healings in the Gospel of Mark, he touches a man with leprosy. Because of the condition, the man would have been considered unclean and un-touchable. He would have likely been isolated and forced to practice “social distancing measures” because of his disease. Not only would he have suffered physically from leprosy, but also emotionally from being alone. This passage reminds us how important and connecting the touch of another person is…. ]click View Post above to continue reading]