Proper 19 (24) (September 11, 2016), Trinity Church, Tyrone, PA Readings: Exodus 32:7-14 Psalm 51:1-10 1 Timothy 1:12-17 Luke 15:1-10 Today is the 15th anniversary of the attacks on New York City and Washington, DC. Thousands lost their lives that day and thousands more have died in the conflicts since. […]
Lament
24 posts
It is the reviewer’s comments that I find interesting here. I had no idea that there was a term for these books, let alone that it was a growing trend. [I]t is what’s become known as a “grief memoir.” Its points of overlap with similar books lead the reader to […]
Continuing the text of the talk I presented at Cornell on 11 April 2015, “My God, my God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? A Biblical Response to Loss and Catastrophe.” There [Lamentations] we have what would seem to be a clear-cut argument: we sin and we suffer as God punishes us. […]
This past weekend I had the great privilege and honor to return to my alma mater and speak at the Graduate Christian Fellowship and Chesterton House. My title was “My God, my God, Why Have You Forsaken Me? A Biblical Response to Loss and Catastrophe.” I have a recording of the lecture […]
UPDATE: The video is now up. This is the lecture I gave for the 20th Annual Mark Luchinsky Lecture. I will be posting the video, or at least the audio and slides, on our college’s YouTube channel this weekend. In the meantime, here are my scripted remarks, I departed occasionally from […]
[pullquote]I try very hard not to be like some bad Saturday Night Live sketch where all I mention is death; sort of a theodical Debby Downer.[/pullquote]This, I think, will be the title of the book I someday hope to write, compiled of all my reflections since Mack’s death. Yesterday marked the two […]
I still miss Mack so very much. It has been almost two years and I try to imagine how big he would be, what he would be doing now, would he be struggling in school? or be sailing along like his sister at that age. Would he even still like […]
I have debated for more than a year whether I should share my thoughts on Psalm 22 with you. They feel selfish, even when I know they are not. This past week my good friend Dr. Rick Wright shared his reflection on Psalm 22, the first of the “last seven […]
I heard an excellent paper yesterday on Job. Unfortunately I missed the beginning due to meetings and so I did not have the full context, but there were a number of perceptive observations along the way. One that I took note of was a distinction he was making between “Death […]
February 2 is the celebration of the purification of Mary after the birth of Jesus and his presentation at the Temple Luke 2:22-39. The passage also presents two prophetic statements, one from a man, Simeon, and one from a woman, Anna (although Anna’s specific words are not given, we are […]