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Jesus Offends Us
John the Baptist is locked in a cell, full of doubt, wondering what the whole Jesus experiment is really all about. He is left questioning everything. What is my role in this? Was I wrong? What he’s really thinking is this: Jesus isn’t the Messiah. This Sunday’s gospel is Matthew 11:2-11, and just in case…
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The tiny gifts of St. Nick
St. Nicholas usually comes to our house. He has found us as we’ve moved. He found us after I grew up and moved out of my parents’ house. He always came to us there. St. Nicholas finds us. And when he does, he puts stuff in our shoes. — When I was getting older, but…
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Preparing in Advent is not about shopping or avoiding Hell
Those of us who live in the north are reminded this time of year to put together an emergency kit. We put in a flashlight, hand warmers, something to kneel on, jumper cables, and more into a box that we keep in the trunk for the next few months. Because we never know when…
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Breaking Our Fast
Of all the spiritual disciplines, I am quickly coming to the conclusion that this one is the most important: the discipline of breaking a fast. The foundation of the word discipline is in speaking of common order–and one’s relationship to order. When we speak of the church’s laws and principles, we refer to the “doctrine and discipline”…
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Our Fast
It is fitting that Congress set All Saints’ Day as the day to cut SNAP (the program formerly known as Food Stamps). The day we celebrate all of the saints that came before, all the saints in our midst, and all of the saints to come, All Saints’ Day is one of the church’s principle…
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Is there a true leader?
The first question a powerful nation must ask before going to war with another; before attempting to overthrow the leader of a sovereign nation is this: is there a truly reconciling native leader? History is full of failed leaders and failed states. Nelson Mandela and George Washington are the exceptions that prove the rule. So…
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Our Dream and Our Reality
Fifty years ago today, the most powerful, religious moment in our shared public history occurred: the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. And I can’t help but believe that we’ve missed the most important part. I’ve written about how we’ve domesticated King’s message and the intention of the moment into it’s direct opposite purpose.…
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Jesus Divides Parents and Children
In tomorrow’s gospel from Luke (12:49-56), we get a most striking vision of a pissed off Jesus complaining about His burdens and claiming (in my 21st Century voice) You think I’m the bringer of peace! Idiots! I bring conflict! It is a hard enough gospel to take, and my (very different) homily will go up…