Specifically, how do we talk about it when someone has died? This article was posted on Facebook by my friend Fr. Jody Howard. “People don’t pass away” by Peter W. Marty on Christian Century. The site has apparently been recycling this story periodically since it was published in 2017. It is well meaning. I passed on […]
What a fun honor! Jonathan Pennington of Southern Seminary invited me to be a guest on his new YouTube show “Cars, Coffee, Theology.” What a treat! You won’t be surprised that we talked about suffering and grace.
It happens to be assigned for Morning Prayer today, but is truly a psalm for Today. Psa. 123 A Song of Ascents.1 To you I lift up my eyes, O you who are enthroned in the heavens!2 As the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid […]
This morning is the day after the 2018 mid-term elections. It was a mixed result in that the Democrats took the House and Republicans retained the Senate but (likely) increased by 3 seats. The state elections went similarly. Some from both parties are devastated and others will no doubt declare the further death of our […]
Whenever I hear the word priorities, I think of Ron Weasley (in the movie version, at least) saying that Hermione, who privileges learning above all else, “needs to get her priorities sorted.” The comment is a bit subversive, it is very amusing, but I have a more serious challenge today. American Christians: we need to […]
This brief post began as a response to a comment on my earlier post “Age in the Book of Ruth and a Proxy Marriage?” The commentator very simply stated that the marriage between Ruth and Boaz was because “a baby needed to be born to preserve the line of Naomi’s husband.” It was suggested (stated […]
What does Jesus really mean when he says “whoever is not against us is for us”? This concept comes up in the Gospel reading for this past Sunday, Mark 9:38-40 (Proper 21, Yr. B), and in the parallel in Luke 9:49-50. (Matt. 12:30 and Luke 11:23 have a similar, yet different phrase in a different […]
I continue to wrestle not only with the issue of suffering and grace, but also the book I am attempting to write on the matter. What tone should I take? Should it be more academic, more of a personal reflection, or more essay based? The following is part of the latter effort. Walking in Grace […]
Proper 18 (23) (September 9, 2018) First reading and Psalm Proverbs 22:1-2, 8-9, 22-23 Psalm 125 Second reading James 2:1-10, (11-13), 14-17 Gospel Mark 7:24-37 7:27 He said to her, “Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” 28 But she […]
My good friend and fellow scholar and clergy member Dr. Richard Wright has started a new(ish) blog with Greek and Hebrew resources following the Lectionary, Plenum creaturis. Rick has provided notes on the Hebrew (Aramaic) and Greek texts assigned for the given week based upon the Revised Common Lectionary. It is well worth looking at […]
