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Not Free to Think
A short reflection on race, geopolitics, theology, and the role of the church in faith. Growing up in the church, I have long felt both at home in the church and like a resident alien. What some classify as evoking transcendent timelessness, I have often seen as dated and inaccessible. When exploring other ways of…
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Uncovering Love
a Sermon for Easter 5C Text: John 13:31-35 Love Each Other. Too Obvious? Sometimes we have a selection from scripture that is too obvious. We understand where Jesus is going and what He’s getting at. Today is one of those days. Jesus gives a new commandment, something he pretty much never does outside of this,…
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You are not blessed with stress
Or why I might not remember your name Stress is not a blessing Something we’ve inherited from our Protestant ancestors is an anachronistic attachment to labor, stress, and a propensity to die early. Probably from a heart attack. Last I looked, there are only nine Beatitudes. I wouldn’t be surprised if some used book shoppe…
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“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples”
republished from St. Paul’s website Last week was a tough week. It felt like tragedy was built upon tragedy. The week began with one of our most iconic images in the country, the Boston Marathon, which was rocked by two violent explosions. Then an entirely unrelated explosion at a fertilizer plant in West Texas. These…
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Scapegoats, Villains, and American Fear
Terror In the wake of the bombings in Boston and the pursuit of the suspects, I’ve been trying to find a way to respond. Something that wasn’t part of the noise. Something that was honest to my experience of needing to watch, but knowing that the coverage would be far too speculative. Studies of the…
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Love is Love Except When It Isn’t
In Sunday’s sermon, I preached about Jesus’s third appearance in the Gospel we call John. There were several pieces that fascinated me about the text. Saturday, I focused on the fantastic image of Peter, sitting naked in a boat, dressing, and jumping into the water. The other is the interaction between Jesus and Peter about…
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Post #500!
Four years ago this month, I started this blog and today, I have reached my 500th post. That means I have averaged 125 posts a year, which turns out to be a post every three days. Not bad, I think. I have much planned for the future of this blog, and much more that I…
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