Liz Cooledge Jenkins

Category: Greek-ing out (& other Bible thoughts)

  • The body of Christ as nurture

    This is part 2 of a sermon split into 3 parts. (The first one is here if you missed it.) The scripture passage is 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, and the theme is “shelter, nurture, and spiritual fellowship of the people of God.” This is the part reflecting on nurture: I think nurture, like shelter, can also be kind of a weird…

  • The body of Christ as shelter

    Two Sundays ago I got to preach at my church, Lake B, for the first time in person. The video is here if you’re interested in watching rather than reading it. I was struck by how different it is to preach in person as opposed to recording a sermon online. Among a supportive community, it’s…

  • Post at Feminism & Religion – Jesus, temptation, and gender

    I’ve enjoyed being able to contribute a couple of articles to Feminism & Religion in the last couple months. Here’s another! It’s about the second temptation of Jesus in the wilderness, as told in Luke 4. We talked about this passage in a church small group a few weeks back, and our conversation got me…

  • Y’all don’t need to worry

    (31) Therefore y’all may not worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?” or, “What will we drink?” or, “How will we be clothed?” (32) For the nations seek out all these things; for y’all’s heavenly father knows that y’all need all these things.  (33) But (y’all) seek first the kingdom [of God] and its justice, and…

  • English is limited, God is not: Reflections on “they/them” pronouns for God

    I was interested to see Chloe Specht’s article “Actually, ‘They’ is a Beautiful Pronoun for God” published in Sojourners on the same day that I finished teaching a three-week class on “feminine God-talk” at my church. In this class, in the course of talking about feminine imagery, metaphors, pronouns, and other ways of thinking about…

  • I could be a little-faith-one

    It’s been a minute (or more precisely, about a month) since I’ve posted a reflection on the “do not worry” passage in Matthew 6:25-34, but I know you’ve missed them. So here’s another! (30) And if God so enrobes the grass of the field, which is today, and tomorrow is thrown into a furnace, (will…

  • God lifts the lowly: reflections on Mary’s song

    46 “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, 48 for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.  Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; 49 for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. 50…

  • God enrobes the wildflowers

    (28) And about clothing, why are y’all worried? Learn thoroughly from the wildflowers of the field, how they grow; they do not labor nor spin. (29) But I say to y’all that not even Solomon in all his glory was clothed like one of these ones. (30) And if God so enrobes the grass of…

  • Why do you worry?

    And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin… -Jesus (Matthew 6:28, NRSV) Here’s another angle on Jesus’ words about worry: What if Jesus’ question why do you worry? isn’t a purely rhetorical question? What if it’s an actual invitation to ask ourselves:…

  • On learning from the wildflowers

    And about clothing, why are y’all worried? Learn thoroughly from the wildflowers of the field, how they grow; they do not labor nor spin. -Jesus (Matthew 6:28, my translation) In my sermon on Matthew 6:25-34, I suggested that when Jesus says do not worry (v. 25), we might quite naturally reply, “okay Jesus, but…how??? How…