The Joshua Victor Theory

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father, and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Today in our Gospel, in a dispute about handwashing, Jesus takes an unlikely position. He defends His disciples who had not washed their hands before eating. Neither Jesus nor the Pharisees were arguing about good hygiene—but the discussion was about ritual purity or cleanness instead. A question of religious observances. The Pharisees and scribes paid passionate attention to detail, and strictly obeyed the traditions passed down by the elders. Among their many traditions were a long list of ritual washings. This included special washings of hands, utensils, cookware, and dining couches.   Seeing Jesus’ disciples eating with unclean hands, they cried foul, because obviously Jesus hadn’t taught the their religious practices well. Jesus replies and shows that the heart of their whole “worship” was wrong. In fact, He shows that their heart wasn’t in it at all. They were more concerne...

Grace, mercy, and peace to you, from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. Colossians 3 & 4, some of which you heard today, are Paul’s instructions to Christians on how to live. Like the book of Galatians, they focus on sanctification—the Christian life. And they build on the Gospel laid out in the preceding chapters. Just to recap the themes of our 3 previous sermons—1) we have been transferred into the kingdom of God’s beloved Son, and by virtue of what Christ has done, we have a new citizenship in Him. 2) We’ve received the mystery of the Gospel, that Jesus Christ is in and with His Church to bring it the forgiveness of sins, a clean conscience, and the life that lasts. 3) We have died with Christ in baptism, and are raised together with Him, so that our life is in Him and with Him . As we come to Paul’s instructions for the new life, we must remember these foundational realities, which Paul sums up in 3:1, “If then you have been raised with Christ…” ...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. In today’s reading we have a wonderful example that shows us how we’re spiritual beings already from our conception, even before natural birth. Becoming a spiritual person capable of faith and trust in the Lord is not something that occurs at some undefined point in late childhood, or even in adulthood—but from the very inception of our human life, we were created to be spiritual, believing souls. This passage stresses that faith is above all how we’re blessed by God. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. John the Baptist wasn’t a “late-bloomer” by any stretch of the imagination. He had a commission from God before his birth to be a royal messenger to prepare the way for the Lord. The angel announcing the promise of John’s birth to his father Zechariah, said that John would be “great before the Lord”…and then went on to give the surprising promise that...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen. Today on Pentecost Sunday we remember the pouring out of the Holy Spirit on the apostles as they went forward with the mission to go and testify about Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension into heaven. Since the readings all focus on the Holy Spirit, we’ll look at what Christian spirituality is. What genuine spirituality for the Christian is, and what the work of the Holy Spirit is, and how Christ and the cross stand at the center of true spirituality. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. While religious belief isn’t “in vogue” today, the generic idea of spirituality is. As author Gene Veith describes in his book, “The Spirituality of the Cross,” people today say they aren’t interested in doctrines, creeds, or institutions, but they are very interested in “spirituality.” “They are in the market for something that will give them a pleasant my...