Fear and Its Friends: A Poem for Lent 1
On Vipers and Joy: A Sermon for Advent 3 on Luke 3:7-18
Advent 3 is the perfect time to repent of our addiction to Empire.
Luke
No Justice. No Peace.
There is no peace here. Jesus may have breathed peace on his disciples. However, many have turned away from the peace he both breathed and embodied.
Lessons from Mary
Being God’s favored one is no easy task. For Mary it meant risking everything – her family, her relationship, her life. When she agreed to Gabriel’s proposal to bring the child of the Most High into the world, she made a choice that meant her life would be changed forever. She would never be just … Read More
Traveling Companions
On the fifth anniversary of my mother’s death, I find myself thinking about all the roads I have traveled – literally and figuratively. I’ve been on roads in many states and a few other countries. Some were crowded city roads and others were quiet rural roads. I’ve traveled on foot, on bicycle, on motor cycle, … Read More
Faith and Politics: A Matter of Vocabulary
My first awareness of politics was in the late 1970s when Ford was President of the U.S. I didn’t understand anything about Watergate but for some unidentifiable reason I recognized that Ford had not been president for a full four-year term. I, as a child of nine or ten, noticed. I did a bit more … Read More
A Poem for the Year’s End
Jesus Replied (Luke 23:43) Year ends. God reigns whether we notice or not. Promises made long ago remain true – all are loved, all are valued, no one excluded. Advent draws near, calling us to pause and listen, watch, prepare, and begin again. The days are surely coming when all feet everywhere will travel in … Read More
Sycamore Lessons
Have you ever climbed up, out on the proverbial limb, in the name of seeing Jesus more clearly? I’ve done it more times than I would like to admit. The trick is to climb down when Jesus calls you out of your foolishness. How else will we be able to dine with Jesus? Unfortunately, too … Read More
Something about Bees, Glass, and Humility
Once again I find myself thinking about Peggy Way’s “fact of glass.” She uses this line, borrowed from a poem, to describe human reluctance to accept fragility and finitude. The poem, “Up Against It” by Eamon Grennon, describes the difficulties bees have sorting out this fact of glass. We humans have the same struggle with … Read More
A Confessional Prayer
Ever-patient God, Jeremiah’s ancient words stir within me You let truth tumble from his lips down through the ages to land on my restless spirit sour grapes are frequently easier to ingest than the word You would inscribe on my heart this troubling truth awakens desire in me yet do I reach for society’s sour … Read More