Weekday Word w/ Eric

Category: Uncategorized

  • Roll the Stone Away in Me

    Scripture:“They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body.” (Luke 24:2–3) Easter with a lecture. It begins with a stone that has been moved. Something that looked final is no longer final. Something that felt sealed is suddenly open. And before anyone understands what…

  • Early Dawn Disciples

    Scripture:“On the first day of the week, at early dawn, they came to the tomb…” (Luke 24:1)“But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them.” (Luke 24:11) Luke’s Easter begins in the half-light—early dawn, when most of the world is still asleep, when grief is still heavy, when faith…

  • Paradise for the Condemned

    Scripture:“One of the criminals… said, ‘Jesus, remember me…’” (Luke 23:42)“Today you will be with me in Paradise.” (Luke 23:43)“Through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” (Acts 13:38) Luke’s crucifixion scene is the climax of the Gospel of Outsiders. Jesus is literally “numbered with the transgressors”—crucified between criminals. The center of salvation history…

  • Innocent and Handed Over Anyway

    Scripture:“I find no basis for a charge against this man.” (Luke 23:4)“I will therefore have him punished and then release him.” (Luke 23:16)“You handed over and rejected… the Author of life.” (Acts 3:13–15) Luke is relentless in one particular way during the trials: Jesus is declared innocent, and still condemned. The system knows what is…

  • The Loneliest Prayer

    Scripture:“Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me… yet not my will but yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)“Jesus said… ‘No more of this!’ And he touched his ear and healed him.” (Luke 22:51)“Lord… grant your servants to speak your word with all boldness.” (Acts 4:29) Gethsemane is where Luke shows us the outsider…

  • The Open Table

    Scripture:“I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.” (Luke 22:15)“Do this in remembrance of me.” (Luke 22:19)“They devoted themselves… to the breaking of bread.” (Acts 2:42) Luke’s Last Supper is tender and unsparing. Jesus gives himself to friends who are about to fail him—betray, deny, fall asleep, scatter. And he…

  • The Widow No One Noticed

    Scripture:“He saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins.” (Luke 21:2)“This poor widow has put in more than all of them.” (Luke 21:3)“In those days… the widows were being overlooked.” (Acts 6:1) Late in Jesus’ final week, Luke places him in the temple watching offerings. And in the middle of all the public…

  • The King Riding a Borrowed Donkey

    Scripture:“He rode on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.” (Luke 19:28)“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38)“God has made him both Lord and Messiah—this Jesus whom you crucified.” (Acts 2:36) Palm Sunday is an outsiders parade in Luke. Jesus enters Jerusalem without the usual symbols of power—no warhorse, no…

  • Let the Children Come

    Scripture:“People were also bringing babies to Jesus… but the disciples rebuked them.” (Luke 18:15)“Let the little children come to me… for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Luke 18:16) Luke tells it plainly: the disciples try to block children. They rebuke the parents as if Jesus is too busy for the smallest…

  • Standing Up Straight for the First Time in 18 Years

    Scripture:“There was a woman… crippled by a spirit for eighteen years.” (Luke 13:11)“Should not this woman… whom Satan has kept bound… be set free?” (Luke 13:16) Luke gives us a woman bent over for eighteen years. That’s not only pain; that’s long-term marginalization. People likely stopped seeing her. Her condition became her identity. Luke’s outsiders…