When Jesus was led into the wilderness to be tempted, he and the devil had a Scripture memory contest. Any Baptist Sunday School teacher would be proud. The curious thing is that they both accurately quote Scripture, but they come to very different conclusions about what it means for Jesus’ life. Specifically, the devil seems to think that, according to …
Angels: Resurrection Stories
Since we talked demons for Lent and it was all depressing, we thought we would turn those frowns upside down for Eastertide and talk about angels. As I’m sure we all remember, demons are the voices in our heads that tell us we are not good enough and the world is not abundant enough for peace and justice. These voices …
Easter Sunday (Sermon and Program)
Program Sermon: “Go Back to Galilee” A reading from the Gospel According to Mark, chapter 16, verses 1 through 8: When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought perfumed oils so that they could anoint Jesus. Very early, just after sunrise on the first day of the week, they came to the …
Easter Sunday at CitC
I’ve seen them referred to as “the poinsettia and lily crowd,” those who show up to church for Christmas and Easter. It’s crass, an insider’s jab at the allegedly less committed and less concerned. But really, if you’re going to show up to church on any two days of the year, those are pretty good ones. While faith and understanding …
Palm Sunday (Program)
Palm Sunday was a little different, so there is no sermon or conversation notes. However, I did want to share the program and one of the songs we did. Program The song was originally written by Florence Reese during the labor riots of the 1930s. Ani DiFranco recently updated it. We took her inspiration for the music and tweaked her …
Palm Sunday at CitC
If you’re looking for a preview of church tomorrow, Matthew Skinner has an excellent article on Mark’s take on the Passion. (Thanks, Jaime!) We’ll be interweaving samplings of this text with music and liturgy. It will be participatory! We’re also working up our own version of Ani DiFranco’s version of a protest song from the 1930s labor battles. Which side …
Palm Sunday: Triumph and Loss
Throughout Lent, we have traveled with 4th century mystic Evagrius Ponticus, interrogating demons to prepare for an encounter with God in death and new life. This season culminates in Holy Week, the annual remembrance of Jesus’ passion and death. It begins on a bittersweet, perhaps ironic note in Palm Sunday. Jesus has traveled to Jerusalem, which is presumably the site …
The Demons’ Power: Fear (Program and Sermon)
Program Opening Comments Avoiding work is an art form. When I delivered pizza and things were slow, I might take the long way back to the store. When I worked in a warehouse, I was taught to “ghost,” which means to carry a clipboard and a pen and look purposeful. But I really honed my craft in the business world …
The Demons’ Power: Fear
This is our final stop on our journey with 4th century mystic Evagrius Ponticus. On our travels, we have encountered Evagrius’ bestiary of demons – demons of desire: gluttony, lust, and avarice; demons of resistance: sadness, anger, and acedia; and demons of reason: vainglory and vanity. We also added shame to Evagrius’ list. I hope that this helped name the …
Demons of Reason (Sermon and Program)
Some have requested that I make the opening and closing comments to our conversations available as well as our programs. Bear in mind that the conversation is a conversation, so the middle part is just questions that may or may not have been asked on Sunday. I hope they are questions readers will find fruitful to consider. Program Opening Comments …