Crazy Theological Thoughts

This epiphany season the three year lectionary has followed the sermon on the mount. how is God made manifest inthe sermon on the mount? Is God shown to be our Father in heaven? Is God revealed as creator and redeemer or even sanctifier? God is made manifest through his Son. Jesus instructs is disciples on the mount. Some may point the Sermon on the mount to Moses receiving the Law on Sinai. But I think it is simpler than that, God is made manifest when you hear him speak. What is the one thing everyone seems to desire? Is it only through signs God is made manifest? No, jews desire signs but gentiles desire reason or instruction. Jesus gives both in the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus reveals the blessings of God and the visual of light. But then he uses reason to show the law of God and how God treats his creation. He also shows the power of prayer and seeking the kingdom of heaven. But in the part of the Sermon left until the begining of the propers or after pente...

In the world we live in how closely do we hold to tradition and History. A better question is how well do we teach Tradition and History? More importantly Tradition and History seem to change over the years. If you are a true traditionalist don't you have to ask when the tradition became a tradition. I love the old story of mother who cut off the end of the ham. Her daughter asked her mother "why do you cut off the end of the ham mother?" The Mother answers "so that the juices help marinate it, I think. But my Mother always did it this way." So the daughter asks her grandmother, "why do you cut off the end of the ham?" The grandmother answers, "because that way it fit into the pan." Sometimes the reasons we give for tradition are not the reason it started. It is easy for me to tell you why this is a good tradition or a bad tradition, but often times it has nothing to do with why it started that way. History is funny like that. The church has ...