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 […]
Tag Archives: faith
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. […]
When one of our good friends was expecting her second child, her three year old had a lot of questions. Three year-olds remind us that questions open the door to knowledge. Do we use the word “expecting” to describe pregnancy because we do not know what the future holds? Will the baby sleep, will we […]
Have you ever had a moment so holy, so beautiful and good, that you couldn’t find your words? Some volunteer priests served their whole lives and never got the chance to lead worship in the Temple, but the lot fell to Zechariah. As the sun set, Zechariah put on the lavish priestly vestments, stepped behind […]
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 […]
Our lectionary reading comes from the Book of First Kings. Kings, like Samuel and Chronicles, reads like history but lifts up some events while completely ignoring others. “Kings” is concerned with one thing: “Did the king do evil in the eyes of the Lord?” ( 1 Kings 16) After that moral assessment Kings reflects very […]
Every January we celebrate Baptism of Our Lord Sunday. Someone will dip their fingers in the water and make the sign of the cross on your forehead or hand saying, “Remember your baptism and be thankful.” When dropping me off at a high school party in 1983, my dad looked right at me and said, […]
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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