John 6:51-58, I Corinthians 12:12-27 "This is my body broken for you. Take and eat, as often as you do so, in remembrance of me." In the last two weeks, I have preached about the layers of meaning in the Communion bread, our daily needs, and Communion wine, a sign of celebration and thanksgiving. The … Continue reading Eucharist #3: Body of Christ
Mark 12 - The Great Commandment The Great Commandment to love God and neighbor is central to my spirituality. The affirmation of both inward spirituality and outward compassion and justice grounds me. My soul is inspired by contemplatives like Thomas Merton, St. Benedict and St. Theresa of Avila; as well as Social Gospel preachers ranging from Martin Luther … Continue reading You Are Not Far From the Kingdom of God
Mark 12 October 24, 2020 The Great Commandment to love God and neighbor is central to my spirituality. The affirmation of both inward spirituality and outward compassion and justice grounds me. Contemplatives like Thomas Merton, St. Benedict, and St. Theresa of Avila inspire me and Social Gospel preachers ranging from Martin Luther King, Jr., abolitionists like Harriet Beecher … Continue reading You Are Not Far from the Kingdom of God
Mark 12:28-34 November 4, 2018 What will we do with ourselves until election results come in on Tuesday night? The campaigns are at the fever pitch of a World Wide Wrestling cage match. The difference is we know pro wrestling is fake, whereas politics effects our real lives and live ammunition is often involved. We have seen all the … Continue reading You Are Not Far from the Kingdom of God
Hear and Do, O People Matthew 22:34-40 October 29,2017 If you have attended a service in Hebrew, you would hear this prayer, known by its first word Sh’ma., “Sh'ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Eḥad - "Hear, O Israel: the LORD is our God, the LORD is One." It is a practice to say this in the morning … Continue reading What Makes You Great Again
Whenever I am lost in an intellectual tangle and wondering what I really believe, I always come back to this great commandment from Jesus, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the greatest and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” I don’t need any great exegetical theories, I don’t have to understand the hermeneutics of Heidegger or ponder the great teleological talents of Tillich to make sense of this. As an editor, I prefer how Luke presents this passage, since he follows with the parable of the Good Samaritan. This way we are even left without a great intellectual debate about “Who is my neighbor?” Everyone who suffers beside the road to Jericho is our neighbor.
With all my soul 