Throughout Lent, we’ve been talking about two journeys: the journey of the Israelites to the Promised Land; and the journey of Jesus to Jerusalem and the cross. This week, both those journeys reached their penultimate moments. In the former, the Israelites camp on the eastern side of border of the Promised Land, the Jordan River across from Jericho. Moses goes …
Of Riches and Rewards
Jesus finally made it out of Galilee this past Sunday on his journey to Jerusalem and the cross. The setting is bleak in Judea beyond the Jordan. I think it looks worse now, thanks to global warming and excessive farming, but it was always “the wilderness,” which was a designation of desolation. There are and were oases that could support …
Playing with Fire
I remember when people began to talk about their “inner child.” Like most people, I thought it sounded ridiculous. Whatever problems we might have, I did not believe an inability for adults to act like children was one of them. Then I went to a therapist that used inner child imaging to really dig around in my psyche. I have …
Signs and Wonders and Real Change
Last week’s passage (Mark 9.14-29) ends with a statement from Jesus that reframes the meaning of the passage, like watching The Sixth Sense. But we hardly notice it because we’ve heard this passage so many times and have cultural construct of faith healings that tells us what it means. We imagine all of Jesus’ healings and exorcisms as a show …
Two Journeys
First, I want to apologize for not writing anything last week. I’m sure everyone was on pins and needles. No, really, I did want to write every day during Lent, so I’m a little behind. The website crashed last week, so my time was spent getting it back instead of adding content to it. It was an inopportune time to …
The Demons That Visit Me: Adventures in Centering Prayer
You forgot to start with three deep breaths. Breathe. In. Out. Yah. Weh. In – You’re probably going to have to poop. I wonder what sound the timer on my watch will make. I’ve never used it before. Probably not as nice as the harp thing on the iPhone. Breathe. In. Out. Yah. Weh. Lisa’s probably going to interrupt you. …
Love and Death
I’m trying to blog every day during Lent, but have already failed. So, here’s my micro-homily from Ash Wednesday instead: Ash Wednesday is, at a very basic level, the acknowledgement of our own mortality. Usually, this service is about the purgation of sin in preparation for death. But this year, we have the rare blessing that it falls on Valentine’s …
A Lenten Gift: Millstones!
I was busy all day yesterday preparing for Ash Wednesday, so I hadn’t seen the news. Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent by acknowledging our own mortality and inviting us to into a 40-day journey of reflection and repentance. At the end, Jesus will die. We will call it Good Friday, so it will appear to be a celebration …
Transfigured, Not Transfixed
Over the last five weeks, we have had conversations about our values as a church and how those values are expressions of the Gospel. That conversation actually began way back in October at our church retreat. We asked folks to write something they value about this church on a sticky note and add it to our board. Then we grouped …
The Revolution of Repentance
Our reading from Martin Luther King on Sunday was an excerpt from a speech he gave at Riverside Church in Harlem on April 4, 1967. It was a speech about the Vietnam War, but, as he often does, he connected his opposition to the war to a broader moral context. He called not only for an end to the war, …