Friends, I need to make a confession. The Beatitudes are kicking my butt. There, I’ve said it. I knew it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park. Jesus has this irritating, nasty habit of ripping to shreds all the masks I so carefully construct,...
In his book Everything Belongs, Franciscan priest Richard Rohr opens with a short reflection he calls “Inherent Unmarketability.” Here’s what he says: How do you make attractive that which is not? How do you sell emptiness, vulnerability, and nonsuccess? How do you talk descent when everything is about...
In the gospels, Jesus speaks of the “kingdom of God” or “kingdom of heaven” more than 100 times. In fact, the Gospel of Matthew tells us that Jesus launched his ministry with the words, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” The kingdom...
Friends, it’s been a tough week. We all have those, don’t we? Weeks when we particularly feel the crush, the push and pull, the “chronic-ness” of life. My tough week has been a result of forces both within and without: a virus laying me low,...
Today is Epiphany. It is also my daughter’s 27th birthday. Happy Birthday, Honey, and save me a piece of the Oreo Ice Cream Pie! But, back to Epiphany. Epiphany means “manifestation”, as in, a manifestation or appearance of the divine. On the church’s liturgical calendar (which...
This morning I experienced one of those magical moments of the Christmas season. It was dark and still in my house, no one stirring yet, and I sat on my couch, wrapped in a blanket with mocha in hand, mesmerized by the white lights and...
This Sunday our sermon series on the Ten Commandments draws to a conclusion. We started this series on Labor Day weekend—doesn’t that seem like a long time ago? Now, two and a half months later, summer heat has been replaced by November chill. Leaves which...
Donald Grey Barnhouse was pastor of Tenth Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia for 33 years until his death in 1960. He had a vivid metaphor for describing how the Ten Commandments work: “The law of God is like a mirror. Now the purpose of a mirror is...
This coming Sunday is Stewardship Sunday at my church. One of my idiosyncrasies is that I LOVE stewardship season and especially Stewardship Sunday. Really, I get nearly giddy. Perhaps it is partly because right out of college I was a Certified Public Accountant for a...
This week our journey through the Ten Commandments brings us to number seven: “Thou shall not commit adultery.” It needs to be said that “thou shall not” does not leave us any wiggle room. God does not put into stone ten signs that say, “I’m advising...