"Removing the marks of circumcision" lands a bit differently in the update. 🤔

Actually, intergenerational conflict seems like low-hanging fruit for Jesus to take credit for... 🤔

First Sunday at the altar in more than two years; first time preaching since last February. 🤯

"...or forgive each other multiple times a day, like I was just talking about. But just imagine! If faith was a wish-granting superpower, can you imagine how messed-up the world would be?"

I have yet to hear a compelling reason WHY anyone would want a mulberry tree cast into the sea (where it will definitely die). I'm pretty sure Jesus is making a joke here. (He does that a lot in Luke's Gospel.)

On a perhaps related topic, can we get a show of hands? How many people thank their smart devices? Why or why not? 🤖

Servants who do what they've been told to do are anything BUT "worthless". They're actually doing their job.

The "unprofitable servant" teaching forces is to reject the idea that God OWES us praise, thanks, or reward for fulfilling our duty. It calls us to serve out of pure allegiance.

Volume 3 of Meier's "A Marginal Jew" is my go-to reference for stuff like this. The other volumes are good, but this one specifically addresses major factions of Judaism, AND the disciples: as a group, as subsets of that group, and also as individuals. 🤓

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Exactly. It took a few minutes, but we figured it out. The waiter had never noticed such a glaring typo, and apparently no one had ever pointed it out. 😀

This is what happens when your left hand doesn't know what your right hand is doing. 😂

Father-in-Law put a note he'd found in his pocket into the collection plate. Then realised it wasn't his offsetting envelope. And had to ask if he could please look through the collection plate and get his grocery list back. 🫢

He said to her, “If they do not pay attention to the social media and the printed notices, neither will they pay attention, even though one rise from the dead.”

Abraham replied, “They have the notices in the bulletin; let them read them.”

She said, “Nay, Father Abraham; but if one read out unto them the notices after church, they will pay attention.”