Posts by Street Psalms

This week’s passage marks the end of what’s often called the “Travel Narrative” in Luke (Luke 9-19). For ten chapters, Luke has traced Jesus and his disciples’ walk from Galilee to Jerusalem, by way of Samaria — through hundreds of years of bad blood. It’s here, in contested space, that Jesus perfects what may be his greatest contribution as a communicator: his gift as a storyteller.

Welcome to the Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost. In this week’s text, Jesus tells a story designed to embolden the disciples to “pray and not lose heart.” He tells of a widow who pleads her case before an unjust judge who, in the end, grants her request, if only because she wears him out…

Welcome to Holy Week. Our text for Easter begins where the crucifixion ends, in darkness. The Gospel of John is evoking images of Genesis at the beginning when the earth was formless and void, and darkness covered the land. […]

Welcome to the Second Week of Lent. In this week’s Gospel, Jesus presents a stark contrast between Herod as a predatory “fox” and Himself as a mother “hen” who is prey. The image of the hen gathering chicks under her wings may warm the heart, but it’s hardly a comfort in the face of real threats. […]

This Ash Wednesday we step into Lent, 40 days of companionship with Jesus to the cross. This annual pilgrimage is becoming an increasingly rare but much-needed tonic in an age where the line between genuine self-reflection and virtue signalling is increasingly blurred. […]

Welcome to the 6th Sunday after Epiphany. This week, we join the crowd and disciples as Jesus preaches His most famous sermon. Notice that in Luke’s version, Jesus doesn’t teach from above the crowd on a holy mountaintop as He does in Matthew. […]

Welcome to the fourth Sunday after Epiphany. Last week, we saw the start of Jesus’ first sermon. Everything seemed to be going great; people were in awe of His gracious words. This week, things take a turn and it doesn’t end well. Jesus is driven out of town — like some kind of demon — by a furious crowd ready to hurl Him off a cliff. […]

Welcome to the second week of Christmas, as we continue to celebrate the mystery of Emmanuel, God with us.

The Incarnation of the Word is indeed a revelation, a dawning of light “for those walking in darkness” (Isaiah 9:2). But what is being revealed, and what has arrived? Certainly not the invention of some new reality — as if God has been absent among us and now has shown up. […]

Welcome to Christmas week. We’ve spent Advent exploring the Waiting Rooms of Christmas: apocalypse, wilderness, the doorstep of the promiseland, and finally, with Mary in her “lowly state.” Each space calls forth the most precious gift — Emmanuel, God with us — who transforms the waiting room, the waiter, and even the waiting itself by His presence. […]

Luke 2:1-14, (15-20)
In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered.

Welcome to the fourth week of Advent. We’ve been occupying the waiting rooms of Christmas. The first week of Advent, we waited in the apocalypse. The second week, we waited in the wilderness. The third week, we waited outside the promiseland. This week we wait with Mary in her “lowly state.” […]

Welcome to the third week of Advent. We’ve been occupying the difficult but transformational waiting rooms of Christmas. In the first week of Advent, we waited in the apocalypse. In the second week, we waited in the wilderness. This week we are still in the wilderness, but thanks to an important detail recorded in the Gospel of John, we find ourselves waiting outside the promiseland, in “Bethany across the Jordan.” […]