First Corinthians 13 may be my favorite passage in the whole Bible. By Monday I had the beginnings of three good sermons that stretched out 12 pages, one had a great funny opening story. None of them seemed adequate for our national moment that Bishop Tracy S. Malone, President – Council of Bishops of The […]
Tag Archives: christianity
The Bible begins with a beautiful creation liturgy, followed by a creation story, a flood story and a tower story. Genesis 2-11 just reads differently than the rest of the Bible. Scholars say that the historical portion of the Bible begins in Genesis 12 where God calls Abraham and Sarah. Jesus spoke of “the God […]
It would be a truly terrible idea, to open up the Biblical canon for another book or two, but if we did, I would nominate Martin Luther King’s 1963 Epistle written inside a Birmingham jail. It is widely quoted, about the length of First and Second Corinthians, and deeply Christian. Dr King like Paul was […]
I read a story about a Detroit Lions fan who got invited onto the field to help stretch out a massive American flag before the game. On the very field where his beloved Lions played, the fan began to taunt Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers’ coach. When LaFleur spoke to the fan, the fan grew […]
Today, we are hearing the Word of God proclaimed in songs, poems, liturgy and hymns. Music and art move us into the parts of truth that resist scientific explanations or historical reductionism. Some of our deepest human values defy: peace, joy, love, respect, unity, hope, awe, wonder, beauty, belonging, compassion, contentment, friendship, fairness, and justice. […]
By beginning, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed,” Luke highlighted the power of the occupying Empire to inconvenience not just Mary and Joseph but the whole world. Historians note that “Quirinius” stretches the historicity of Luke’s timeline, but a particularly cruel governor, Quirinius” remind […]
We are beginning our journey to Christmas. On Monday I walked into the sanctuary and saw Susan, Arnell, Marlene, Eleanor, James and Neil putting up our Chrismon tree. Chrismon means Christ monogram- they are special ornaments that remind us of Christ. “Advent” means arrival, beginning or starting. The theological place where we began our journey […]
Jesus told them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in their garden. It is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make […]
Despite my protest, Dad refused to reshuffle the order of cars in the driveway, so we rolled up in an old farm truck, with a huge dent in the bed and non-functioning air horns across the cab. I was a ninth grader, new to my school and heading to my first party with the popular […]
In his groundbreaking book, “Jesus and the Disinherited”, Howard Thurman tells how his grandmother, Nancy Ambrose and his mother were both born into slavery in the American South. When his mother died, Thurman’s grandmother Nancy Ambrose raised Howard. One of Thurman’s regular chores was reading the Bible aloud to his grandmother, who could neither read […]
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