Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Religion

  • When Jesus makes reference to something known as “The Law,” He is referring to perhaps the central concept of the Jewish faith, and for us as His followers, of our faith. We could go on for hours describing the nuance of The Law, or Torah and what it means. But the best way to describe…

  • a Homily for Proper 21B Text: Mark 9:38-50   The Call Story Ten years ago, I decided to change my life. In the previous few years, I graduated with a BA in English Literature from Alma College, moved to a suburb of Boston to begin an MFA program at Emerson College, then I moved to…

  • Eating Mark 9:38-50   Last week, Jesus foretold His death for the second time. And the for the second time, the disciples don’t get it. No surprise there. For me, this was always a given. From the first time I really heard Peter get rejected by Jesus for getting out of line to the first conscious recognition…

  • In this week’s piece, we explore the nature of Mark 8:27-38, the story with that great line: “get behind me, Satan!” Ouch! Peter got burned! The big thing about this story is that it is that turning point. The point where everything really does change because its game day. Yesterday was practice, today we play. If we dwell…

  • This guest post by Registered Runaway on Rachel Held Evans’ blog is too powerful to ignore. “Church Stories: Forgive them, Father” I want a church in which we can all celebrate and live up to the type of fatherhood described in the story. And their children inspire us to be better fathers as this one…

  • Of the soil

    a Homily for Proper 18B Text: Mark 7:24-37 Is Jesus a Racist? The central figures of this pericope are Jesus and the Psyrophenician Woman. This woman comes to Jesus to heal her daughter who is possessed by a demon. The last time Jesus was over here, he dispelled a host of demons. Our lectionary skipped…