The Breaking of the Bridesmaids: Rethinking a Problematic Parable (Lectionary Reflection)

Last updated on: November 3, 2014 at 7:37 pm By David Roberts

Matthew 25: 1-13 | Proper 27 | Year A (When the gospel is read, have different readers interrupt the gospeller with the italicized verses of Scripture. Visually, either have the disrupters stand, almost in protest, and remain standing through the reading. Conversely, have the disrupters process behind and surround the gospeller.) At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish and five were wise.... Read more

Killing Jesus Just Killed White Jesus: Nat Geo’s Miniseries Casts Lebanese-born Actor to Play Jesus

Last updated on: December 19, 2014 at 5:29 pm By David Roberts

Killing Jesus might have just killed White Jesus. National Geographic Channel’s new miniseries, Killing Jesus, has done what virtually no other mainstream Jesus film or television series has done. They cast a Middle Eastern man to portray a Middle Eastern man. Shocking, I know. The four-part miniseries, set to air in 2015, announced today that Lebanon-born actor Haaz Sleiman (The Visitor) will portray the title character Jesus. Now for virtually any other subject, this wouldn’t be surprising or even... Read more

#IfTheyGunnedMeDown, Who Do You Say that I Am?

Last updated on: December 19, 2014 at 5:30 pm By David Roberts

Year A — August 24 — Matthew 16:13-20 — Proper 16 Who do you say that I am? A looter. A criminal. The falsely accused. Who do you say that I am? A rule breaker. A deranged man. A demon. Who do you say that I am? A son. A beloved. A man. Who do you say that I am? Some say this. Others say that. But we don’t have all the facts. Who do you say that I am?... Read more

An Ancient Prayer Saved My Faith

Last updated on: August 25, 2014 at 1:36 pm By David Roberts

This is a late contribution for my friend Ed Cyzewski’s synchroblog celebrating the release of his new book A Christian Survival Guide. An ancient prayer saved my faith. A friend in college had invited me to attend a nearby Episcopal church. It was a disorienting place with its vaulted ceilings, stone columns, and ornate stained glass. Even more so were all the books I had to keep up with, the strange customs, and the weirdly dressed parade that began the... Read more

Why Every Christian Should Watch ‘Calvary’ … and Avoid ‘God’s Not Dead’

Last updated on: December 19, 2014 at 5:30 pm By David Roberts

I’m not going to mince words about this. Heaven is For Real and God’s Not Dead are not Christian movies. They are not even religious movies. They are schmaltzy, vacuous, “inspirational” movies. If a film leaves viewers with a fist full of answers rather than questions, with declarative reassurances that heaven is real and God is alive, then it’s not really a movie about faith and it’s certainly not a Christian movie. Those films are little more than mindless memes. They are scary chain... Read more

#WeAreN, But Are We Really? On Hashtags and the Harvests of War in Iraq

Last updated on: August 13, 2014 at 6:20 pm By David Roberts

Over the past month, there has been a crescendo of outrage over the horrific acts of ISIS in Iraq and Syria in many American Christian circles. And it’s justifiable. In fact, it’s hard not to be angry and appalled. Reportedly, ISIS has been systematically exterminating religious minorities, a campaign of slaughter that left some 5,500 dead in the past six months — some 2,000 in the past month alone — and scores more displaced from their homes. While the hashtag... Read more

‘Send Them Away’: A Homily for the Loaves and Fish (Proper 13A)

Last updated on: August 2, 2014 at 12:06 pm By David Roberts

Proper 13 — Year A — Matthew 14:13-21 When I was on pilgrimage in the Holy Land earlier this year (thanks to the incredible generosity of my bishop and diocese), we stayed in small pilgrim’s hotel not far from the site where today’s story is said to have taken place. For 1,500 years, Christians have venerated this site as the place where Jesus fed the multitudes, and so atop ruins from a 4th century church, the Roman Catholic Church has... Read more

On Calvary and the Absorption of Pain: A Discussion with Brendan Gleeson and John Michael McDonagh

Last updated on: December 19, 2014 at 5:32 pm By David Roberts

Last week, I had a chance to talk with actor Brendan Gleeson and writer/director John Michael McDonagh about their brilliant new film Calvary, which releases in the U.S. on Friday, Aug. 1. Calvary is one of those rare films that confronts the beauty and the faults of the Church without flinching. It follows the life of a small town Irish priest named Fr. James Lavelle (Brendan Gleeson) after a parishioner threatens his life in the confessional. The potential murderer gives... Read more

Bulldozing Magdala: Feast of Mary Magdalene Amid the War in Gaza and Displaced Palestinians

Last updated on: December 19, 2014 at 5:33 pm By David Roberts

We often think of Mary Magdalene in terms of resurrection. After all, she is called the Apostle to the Apostles, was the first to witness the resurrection, and was the first to proclaim that Good News to others. As a result, Christians — particularly progressives — see her as a patron for women who claim their rightful places in pulpits, at altars, and in positions of church leadership. But today, on her feast day, I want to remember something else... Read more

Let Them Grow Together: On Gaza, Migrants, Refugees, Wheat and Weeds (A Homily)

Last updated on: July 20, 2014 at 12:14 am By David Roberts

Proper 11 — Year A — Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 A few weeks ago, I asked my boys to help me pull weeds in the garden. For me, I have been trained over 33 years to know what’s a weed and what’s not. I can look at my tiny plot of dirt and I can see in a second what’s not supposed to be there. I know what belongs and what doesn’t. My boys, on the other hand, weren’t so sure.... Read more