The Gospel According to Aretha and a Playlist for Pentecost 16C

…these same grumbling pharisees were the audience for the parable of the unrighteous manager who acts with wisdom. Here Jesus essentially challenges the elites of his day to utilize the unjust system in which they willingly participate to bring about justice for their siblings in need. In this context consider the wisdom of Aretha Franklin: “You better think, Think about what you’re trying to do to me. Yeah, think, Let your mind go, let yourself be free…” And it seems that in this weeks lesson this same grumbling audience is standing ‘round Jesus, and they’re just not getting it. So Jesus, with a story that typifies tough love or what Bonhoeffer called “costly grace”, brings this parable of Lazarus the Beggar…

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