Rev. Tom Hathaway - March 8, 2026
A Tradition Worth Keeping
What starts as a fun fact about Genghis Khan ends up somewhere you probably didn't expect — inside a first-century synagogue, watching a religious leader choose his donkey's thirst over eighteen years of a woman's suffering. This sermon on Luke 13:10:-17 traces what happens to every tradition, every institution, every church when the form outlives the meaning: how the most liberating ideas harden over time into the very cages they were built to open. And on a morning when Hillside welcomes new members, it asks what it actually means to say yes to people who will show up with fresh eyes and inconvenient questions — and why that is not a threat, but the whole point.
Scripture References: Luke 13:10-17
From Series: "The Gospel of Luke"
The Gospel of Luke tells the story of Jesus in a way that feels surprisingly modern. It’s researched, stitched together from real voices, and honest about its own process. It centers people usually left out of religious stories: women, immigrants, the poor, the doubters, the ones on the edges. This series explores how Luke’s gospel came to be and what it says about a God who works through imperfect people, contested decisions, and messy history to bring healing, justice, and hope. You don’t need to have faith figured out to belong here. This is an invitation to explore a story that has shaped the world and still has something to say about ours.
