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Introduction As we continue our post-Easter series Reckless Love, we return to a central question from our source book: who exactly is our neighbor? Last week we explored what it means to begin with love. This week we ask who that love is actually for, and whether the answer is as broad as Jesus seems to intend. In this week’s reading, we follow Jesus from the shores of Gennesaret to the home of a tax collector, and the pattern of who he chooses…

Introduction As we begin our post-Easter series Reckless Love, we open with a question central to our Judeo-Christian faith: of all the commandments, which one comes first? Most Christians remember Jesus’ response when asked in the synoptic Gospels, and perhaps we might consider that we’re a bit too familiar with what Jesus says. Perhaps we’ve been looking at it backwards. This Sunday, we take that backwards look seriously. Reading from Mark 12 and Galatians 5, we ask what it means…

Introduction As we come to the final week of our Lenten series The Last Supper: Conversations That Led to the Cross, our journey reaches the table it’s been heading toward all along. Over the past five weeks, we’ve watched Jesus tell stories about a God who scatters seed recklessly, who keeps sending servants into the streets with invitations, who throws a party before an apology is finished, who sees those lying outside our gates, and who sends a beloved son…

Introduction As we continue our Lenten series The Last Supper: Conversations That Led to the Cross, the stories have been building. A reckless sower scattered seed everywhere. A host kept sending his servant back into the streets. A father threw a party before his son could finish apologizing. A rich man feasted while a poor man sat outside his gate. Each week, Bishop Will Willimon’s question has been: Who is God, and what is God up to? As the days…