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 […]
Tag Archives: Martin Luther KIng
Mark tells no back stories: no theological images like John, no genealogy like Matthew, and no birth narrative like Luke. Mark begins with John the Baptist. Jesus was about 30 years old, the age when many men got married, when he decided to travel to the Judean wilderness to hear John the Baptist preach. John […]
Three acts into the 28 scenes of the Acts of The Apostles, Peter and John land in jail just like Jesus. They were arrested, jailed overnight, and dragged before the same court that crucified Jesus. I don’t know about you, but I grew up hearing that preachers should avoid politics, stay away from trouble and […]
“Now, I don’t know how long this Saturday in the state of Tennessee will last, but I’ve got Good News: Sunday always comes, resurrection always comes. Resurrection is a promise and a prophecy! We are still here and we will never quit.” Rep. Justin Pearson
“The lands in longing call out your name; the tongues are diff’rent, the prayer the same. With humble spirits can we believe that God is bigger than we conceive? The will of heaven on this earth be done; the day is coming, oh, let it come. With willing spirits, Lord, let us dare to kneel […]
God, our refuge and our strength, we feel the fierce urgency of the now. We long to save the soul of our nation.* We can not be satisfied with injustice- anywhere. We lift up those who endure excessive trials and tribulation. May your creative power redeem their suffering. In our struggles, keep us free from […]
Over 30 years ago, I left my childhood denomination and joined the Methodist church. When people asked me, “Why did you become a Methodist?, I usually answered with one word: “Grace.” In seminary, when I read about Wesley’s idea of “being made perfect in love”, I wrote “this is idiotic. perhaps blasphemous” in the margins […]
I awoke at 3am, perhaps, because of the NYT interactive graphic “477 Days, 521 Mass shootings, Zero Action from Congress” I read before bed. Unable to return to sleep, I went and dusted off a sermon from 2015. Sadly, it was easy to rework it for another shooting. I awoke grieving for Las Vegas, […]
What are your everyday ethics? What metrics guide your daily living? Paul’s letters often offer little passages dedicated to everyday ethics. You might think of these passages as “Checklist for Christian living,” or “Christian Rules to Live By” or a “Jesus’ daily metrics” Our passage in Romans’ 12 revolves around Jesus’ Great Commandment Part B: “Loving […]
Connie and Maureen Meehan worked together as Physical Therapists in the late 1980s. Bill Meehan kept dinner lively with his engaging New York attitude. Occasionally, we babysat for the Meehans. Little Billy’s first grade picture graced their refrigerator. On Picture Day, Billy came to breakfast with only one eyebrow, at first denying playing with his […]
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