Biblical Studies Archives

Eating with Sinners and the Elder Son

Luke 15 starts with this: "And the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling and saying 'This fellow welcomes sinners and eats with them.'" What follows are three parables, each of them about something lost that is found. The first is a sheep, the second a…

Jason LiefApril 24, 2019

Biblical Studies Theology

Maybe God Doesn’t Take Sides: The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

Reading the parables of Jesus with Jewish New Testament scholar Amy-Jill Levine (Short Stories by Jesus: The Enigmatic Parables of a Controversial Rabbi) has been unsettling. During lent I've preached some of Jesus' parables, and listening to Levine unpack them causes me to cringe. I'm…

Jason LiefApril 18, 2019

Biblical Studies Essay

This is America

The time has come for our politics to die; it has become too sick and twisted to save. Our politics has become infected with privilege as the rich and famous dance on the backs of the poor. Increasingly, the poor are disproportionately sent into wars…

Jason LiefSeptember 28, 2018

Biblical Studies Essay

Power and Silence

A powerful man abusing his authority by taking advantage of a young woman. The male gaze peeping out from the window; unaware that he's watching, she merely goes about the normal task of bathing. An unsuspecting spouse, not knowing that his wife has been violated,…

Jason LiefOctober 13, 2017

Biblical Studies Essay

Reading Song of Songs more often in Church

This Sunday night, around 6:10 PM central time, I will ascend the steps of the big boxy pulpit and begin to read from the Song of Songs. "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!...We will exult and rejoice in you; we will…

Jason LiefSeptember 1, 2017

Biblical Studies Essay

St. Francis and Good Friday

When playing the hero went terribly wrong, and he had recovered from his injuries, Saint Francis came upon a broken down church where he encountered an icon of the crucifixion. Staring at the wounds of Christ, he underwent a change, a transformation of sorts. Soon, the young punk…

Jason LiefApril 14, 2017

Biblical Studies Politics Theology

A Psalm for Inauguration Day: Psalm 20

The Lord answer you in the day of trouble! The name of the God of Jacob protect you! 2 May he send you help from the sanctuary, and give you support from Zion. 3 May he remember all your offerings, and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah…

Jason LiefJanuary 20, 2017

Biblical Studies Essay Theology

Beware of the Extraordinary

"What does Jesus say about all that? He says 'Beware of practicing your righteousness before others in order to be seen by them'. The call to be extraordinary is the great, inevitable danger of discipleship. Therefore, beware of this extraordinariness, of the way discipleship becomes…

Jason LiefNovember 18, 2016

Biblical Studies Essay Theology

Going Medieval

Lately, my classes are all running together, intersecting at the point of the Golden Calf in Exodus 32 and Dionysius. Discussing the Golden calf is fitting in our current political climate—the way we all adhere to our political and cultural ideologies, taking God captive as we pontificate about…

Jason LiefSeptember 23, 2016

Biblical Studies Essay Politics

Why Baylor Matters

Women are prominent characters in Luke's gospel. It begins with Mary, the blessed one through whom grace and hope is born into the world; it ends with women running from the tomb, proclaiming the gospel. In between there are powerful stories that tell of Jesus' encounters with women, like the one who…

Jason LiefJune 3, 2016

Biblical Studies

Reading Song of Songs more often in Church

St. Francis and Good Friday

A Psalm for Inauguration Day: Psalm 20

Beware of the Extraordinary

Going Medieval

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