This has been sitting in the draft folder for a while now. [Y]ou also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ [1 Peter 2:5 (NIV) Read the whole passage] We live in a skeptical age. It’s not just that people don’t believe in God. Perhaps the bigger tragedy is … Continue reading Spiritual Houses, a Reflection on 1 Peter 2:5
Souls, safety, sanity Not all losses are the same- Coins are not children Continue reading Lectionary Haiku: Luke 15
Take heed the story of the older son With work and sweat and thankless servanthood To watch his Father take off on a run and wrap his arms around a heart of wood. With scabs of faithfulness upon his brow and blisters where the ring’s supposed to be He watches with his hand still on the plow As Jacob falls upon their Father’s knee What’s … Continue reading Sonnet: The Prodigal Son’s Older Brother
I once did something wrong. Actually, I started out to do something right. Though I was on the right side of justice, I pursued it in a destructive manner. My short-lived position on the right-side quickly gave way to a prolonged stay on the wrong side. My wife called me out. Initially, she understood my indignation and supported me. Before I saw the real error … Continue reading The Trouble with Women
April 22 is an odd day this year. Some have made the link between Good Friday and Earth Day. Some have said ‘Please don’t‘. Complicating matters for me, personally, is the fact that my daughter’s first birthday just happens to be April 22, 2011. We will celebrate A.’s birthday on Saturday. It’s not that Good Friday is a bad time to conserve energy, commit to … Continue reading Because Lent is NOT about Social Justice
Give up your meat, give up your right to win. Take on the shame, behold your righteous rags. While stepping in the foot-tracks of your sin, The stony weight upon your back now sags. With shoulders slumped the pathway rises on While skeletons of yesteryear appear And chatter with their mercies well withdrawn The incline rises ever more severe. Lift up thine eyes, a Savior … Continue reading Lenten Sonnet
On the heap of fish Challenged to follow Jesus Simon drops his nets Ev’rything to follow Jesus Ev’rything A maturing Lent means less fun and more struggle- Ah! The good ol’ days Let go of fear. Let go of the net. Let go of business-as-usual. Let go of apathy, cynicism, sloth and lust. Let go of war-as-an-answer. Let go of ‘we can’t afford that’. … Continue reading (Not-So) Lectionary Haikus
Lent has turned into a time of reading. I know many pastors are avid readers…I’m not. I’m slow, tedious and hard to please. I have started many-a-book that I never finished, including books I was enjoying. My favorite book of all time, A Prayer for Owen Meany, I began 3 times before completing. I guess I have a shorter attention span and/or I crave immediacy, … Continue reading Reading for Lent
Rain. Gray. Rivers rising. Mud everywhere. Vitamin-D low. Worries high. A typical Thursday. Samuel–Son of Hannah, Man of God Samuel is God’s reward to Hannah for her prayers. Then she gives him up to the Temple. Before taking him to the Temple, Hannah has time one-on-one with Samuel, her first son, evidence that God heard her prayer. She retains him in the home until he … Continue reading The Second Day of Lent
First Ashes I spent most of the day bah-humbugging the onset of Lent. It’s rainy and gray and muddy and I want to ride my new bike. In preparing for Ash Wednesday, I recalled doing Lent in college and how it was a delight to fast, spend time alone with God and to work out my faith. It made for a useful sermon analogy. I … Continue reading The First Day of Lent
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