This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” See “Q is for ‘Quails’” Manna is a word that remains fairly well known in the English language and most people will even recognize an echo of the Exodus in its usage. The term is actually the Hebrew phrase meaning “What is it?” […]
Acrostic Contemplations
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Lent, according to the Oxford English Dictionary, cones from Old Dutch and Old German, meaning “long” or “lengthen.” It is a reference to the lengthening of days in the spring and in some Old English texts, the term is synonymous with spring. […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Knowledge is a flexible term. In some languages, like German, you can have several different words which all track to a single, meager, “to know” in English. You might know a person at work, you can know a fact about the world, […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” Immortality is a long time. At some point in our lives, we all think about death, the end of this life, which is all we have known and, therefore, all we can comprehend. Death, we know because we have seen it, is […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” John 20:19 When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for [they were afraid]. Over the course of the Easter season, I see a […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” “Grace, she takes the blame She covers the shame Removes the stain It could be her name” I was sitting in a meeting of the university deans with the president and the provost presiding. We were discussing language for a new campaign, considering what slogan […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations” and began as a sermon for the Second Sunday in Lent (February 25, 2024). “[The LORD] brought Abram outside and said, ‘Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall […]
I have a deep desire, often uncontrollable, to be understood. More specifically, that my ideas and arguments should be understood. It is a horrible habit and I have been aware of it for decades and I fight against these inclinations, and often lose. It can ruin relationships and it has […]
This is an entry in the “Acrostic Contemplations.” See “Nunc Dimittis” “…He will swallow up death forever.” Isa. 25:8a We do not like to talk about death. Never have. Any of us. Which is not to say we don’t talk about death, we can’t avoid it. And there are some, […]