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From Night to Day: reconciling, faith, and the Kingdom walk
a Homily for Lent 3A Text: John 4:5-42 The Story Our scene turns from Nicodemus, who seeks Jesus at night to an unnamed woman who stumbles upon him in the middle of the day. I think we are supposed to juxtapose these contrasting characters from chapters 3 and 4. Night/Day. Man/Woman. Named/Nameless. Leader/Commoner. Insider/Outsider. Hebrew/Samaritan.…
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Teaching Mixed Messages: love, violence, and more Walking Dead
The Michigan Militia It was the late 90’s and several militia groups, most famously the “Michigan Militia” had bloomed in the thumb-area of Michigan, just down the road from my college. The populist rage that would a decade later birth the Birthers and the Tea Party was a post-Waco response to a perceived lack of…
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Who Survives: the morbid morality of The Walking Dead
[Warning: While I am not recapping the most recent episode, there are some spoilers from “The Grove” and from earlier episodes in Season 4. I’ll leave the recaps for EW and The Daily Beast. The subject however, remains difficult and not suitable for all readers.] Last night’s episode of The Walking Dead, “The Grove” is…
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Revealed: honesty and the Christian
a Homily for Lent 2A Text: John 3:1-17 Under Cover of Darkness We meet Nicodemus in Lent each year. Like Jesus, we receive him in darkness and confusion, wondering why he is here. Why does he come if he does not believe or even understand Jesus? Does he seek knowledge only? Is he gathering information…
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Dinner #1
My Mom requested a visit. Not really something my Mom does. But since she’s doing chemo, she’s allowed. Yes, cancer. Aggressive. And to be fair, I offered. So I’m visiting my Mom and Dad. Mom’s other request was that I come up and make dinner. I get to set the menu. A lesser man would…
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Preparing for after the test: Lent and self-discovery
a Homily for Lent 1A Text: Matthew 4:1-11 Getting our bearings The gospel we call Matthew has a birth story, a flight into Egypt and all that. Then John the Baptizer prepares the way for Jesus, who comes to him to be baptized, and then is immediately compelled by the Spirit to go out into…
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ReMembering is Messy: Ash Wednesday and black thumbs
a Homily for Ash Wednesday Text: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Beyond Black Thumb Day Today is Black Thumb Day. What? Never heard of it? It is the day that priests all over the world put on nice white albs, dip their thumbs in black, flaky ashes, and smudge those ashes on everything. It begins with people’s…
