SACRED SAGAS
"A long story of heroic achievement"
Perhaps a rather presumptuous title, but, life takes courage to live and is, therefore, a sort of heroic achievement. I write about the story, the long story of my life that includes a few heroic achievements, but mostly ordinary ones.
Smallbones Saga. Shortly after I graduated from College, I began writing "Smallbones Saga." I chose the term Saga, for a) alliteration and, b) to tell my story in the regular newsletter written for friends and family who supported me. As the years went by and my life changed, Smallbones Saga morphed into a yearly Christmas and New Year letter, bringing my friends up to speed with the latest story of my ongoing life. Smallbones Saga 2021 is now available. 2021 was a quiet year, thanks to the continuing covid virus. The highlight was being able to offer lectio divina with an international community via zoom.
Can these bones live? If you've ever felt spiritually dry, hopeless and helpless, you've probably also wondered whether you would ever live again. If you're anything like me, in your hopeless times you never thought about spending time of prayerful reflection with Ezekiel's macabre vision of a valley of dry bones. As I studied this vision in order to preach it, I discovered this is the passage and vision we most need when we feel disintegrated and hopeless. 'Can these bones live?' is a saga about hope and the assurance that our God is still in the business of giving life to the dead, hope to the hopeless. Yes, we can amd will live again.
You just need to be thirsty. The 2nd Sunday of Epiphany in year C includes the story of changing water to wine from John 2. This year (2022), the 2nd Sunday of Epiphany fell on my birthday (Jan 16). I thought it would be appropriate to preach this text on my birthday. I've preached it before (but not at this church) and I've also written about it but I needed to make changes for a different audience. As I studied the text again, I made new discoveries and chose a somewhat different path to what I'd done before. The title, 'You just need to be thirsty,' comes from Jesus' invitation in John 7 and the concluding invitation of our Bible in Revelation. If you're thirsty, read and drink the water of life offered freely and generously to all who are thirsty.
Response to the insurrection of January 6, 2021. Like so many, I was horrified at what happened on January 6 in Washington, D.C. I was deeply saddened by the images that displayed Christian symbols, suggesting this hate-filled violence was Christian. And like many, I wrote about my feelings and thoughts in this article.
Binding the Strong Man (Mark 3:2-35). Jesus said, “… whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” Many of us have struggled with these words and wondered whether we've committed the unforgivable sin. We need a better understanding of the context of Jesus' saying and about to whom Jesus spoke. There is danger that we today could commit the unpardonable sin, but we need to know what Jesus was referring to. I've tried to address that in this article.
Come, everything is ready (Luke 14:12-24). The parable of a great banquet is often told to guilt and scare people into the kingdom. However, Luke's version, which never comes up in the Revision Common Lectionary, doesn't do that. Jesus' story begins, 'Someone gave a great dinner and invited many.' It's very vagueness forces us to ask, 'Are we that 'someone'? It seems to me that's the point of the parable. It calls us to make the same transformation (think conversion) the 'someone' in the parable made by inviting and welcoming the 'poor, the cripple, the blind, the lame' (think 'asylum seekers, homeless, beggars, alcoholics, prostitutes, illegal aliens, etc., anyone we'd rather avoid.
Help my unbelief: a meditation on Mark's lengthy version of the story of the father whose son had 'a spirit that kept him from speaking and hearing' (Mark 9:14-29). The story is pivotal in our understanding of what Jesus came to do. It assures us of his control over all things, including our issues today. It's story about the struggle with unbelief, a struggle most of us can identify with, and what Jesus said we should do about it.
Off with your shoes, please. In this brief article I reflect on my favorite quotes about the Trinity and admit the mystery that underscores the greatness of the God and Father of Jesus Christ.
Psalms and Prayer. Teach us to pray: The Psalms as Necessary Training Ground. The psalms are necessary to the life of prayer. The essay highlights some of the most meaningful lessons I learned about prayer--what I can and should bring into the presence of God. The lessons are rooted in personal experience and include the lesson of not dressing in my best when I pray.
Praying in Ugly Times. When the coronavirus became a global pandemic, friends suggested reading Psalm 91, a wonderful psalm of hope and encouragement. I read it and grew a little cynical as I imagined people who'd already lost a love one reading 'he will deliver you from the deadly pestilence.' My essay is an encouragement to be free to pray, honestly and truly our pain and sorrow.
The Messiah we want is a meditation on John 1:29-34. Crowds flocked around John the Baptizer thinking, hoping he was Messiah. Each one had their own idea of what to expect from a messiah, just as we do today as well. This essay is a reflection on what we want in a messiah and a challenge to admit we might be wrong, we might be right.
Why I can't vote for Trump. Some of my Christian friends are devoted Trump supporters and find it incomprehensible that I'm not. I explain why in this paper, although I realize that some of my Trump-supporter friends still fail to understand why I couldn't and didn't vote for Trump in 2016 and again 2020.
Worship and Discipleship: My story about worship. Not only is worship what we, creatures of God are expected to do. it is also the heart of how we're being formed into the image of the one we worship. Click on the link in the drop down menu under 'sacred sagas' and read all about it.
Can these bones live? If you've ever felt spiritually dry, hopeless and helpless, you've probably also wondered whether you would ever live again. If you're anything like me, in your hopeless times you never thought about spending time of prayerful reflection with Ezekiel's macabre vision of a valley of dry bones. As I studied this vision in order to preach it, I discovered this is the passage and vision we most need when we feel disintegrated and hopeless. 'Can these bones live?' is a saga about hope and the assurance that our God is still in the business of giving life to the dead, hope to the hopeless. Yes, we can amd will live again.
You just need to be thirsty. The 2nd Sunday of Epiphany in year C includes the story of changing water to wine from John 2. This year (2022), the 2nd Sunday of Epiphany fell on my birthday (Jan 16). I thought it would be appropriate to preach this text on my birthday. I've preached it before (but not at this church) and I've also written about it but I needed to make changes for a different audience. As I studied the text again, I made new discoveries and chose a somewhat different path to what I'd done before. The title, 'You just need to be thirsty,' comes from Jesus' invitation in John 7 and the concluding invitation of our Bible in Revelation. If you're thirsty, read and drink the water of life offered freely and generously to all who are thirsty.
Response to the insurrection of January 6, 2021. Like so many, I was horrified at what happened on January 6 in Washington, D.C. I was deeply saddened by the images that displayed Christian symbols, suggesting this hate-filled violence was Christian. And like many, I wrote about my feelings and thoughts in this article.
Binding the Strong Man (Mark 3:2-35). Jesus said, “… whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” Many of us have struggled with these words and wondered whether we've committed the unforgivable sin. We need a better understanding of the context of Jesus' saying and about to whom Jesus spoke. There is danger that we today could commit the unpardonable sin, but we need to know what Jesus was referring to. I've tried to address that in this article.
Come, everything is ready (Luke 14:12-24). The parable of a great banquet is often told to guilt and scare people into the kingdom. However, Luke's version, which never comes up in the Revision Common Lectionary, doesn't do that. Jesus' story begins, 'Someone gave a great dinner and invited many.' It's very vagueness forces us to ask, 'Are we that 'someone'? It seems to me that's the point of the parable. It calls us to make the same transformation (think conversion) the 'someone' in the parable made by inviting and welcoming the 'poor, the cripple, the blind, the lame' (think 'asylum seekers, homeless, beggars, alcoholics, prostitutes, illegal aliens, etc., anyone we'd rather avoid.
Help my unbelief: a meditation on Mark's lengthy version of the story of the father whose son had 'a spirit that kept him from speaking and hearing' (Mark 9:14-29). The story is pivotal in our understanding of what Jesus came to do. It assures us of his control over all things, including our issues today. It's story about the struggle with unbelief, a struggle most of us can identify with, and what Jesus said we should do about it.
Off with your shoes, please. In this brief article I reflect on my favorite quotes about the Trinity and admit the mystery that underscores the greatness of the God and Father of Jesus Christ.
Psalms and Prayer. Teach us to pray: The Psalms as Necessary Training Ground. The psalms are necessary to the life of prayer. The essay highlights some of the most meaningful lessons I learned about prayer--what I can and should bring into the presence of God. The lessons are rooted in personal experience and include the lesson of not dressing in my best when I pray.
Praying in Ugly Times. When the coronavirus became a global pandemic, friends suggested reading Psalm 91, a wonderful psalm of hope and encouragement. I read it and grew a little cynical as I imagined people who'd already lost a love one reading 'he will deliver you from the deadly pestilence.' My essay is an encouragement to be free to pray, honestly and truly our pain and sorrow.
The Messiah we want is a meditation on John 1:29-34. Crowds flocked around John the Baptizer thinking, hoping he was Messiah. Each one had their own idea of what to expect from a messiah, just as we do today as well. This essay is a reflection on what we want in a messiah and a challenge to admit we might be wrong, we might be right.
Why I can't vote for Trump. Some of my Christian friends are devoted Trump supporters and find it incomprehensible that I'm not. I explain why in this paper, although I realize that some of my Trump-supporter friends still fail to understand why I couldn't and didn't vote for Trump in 2016 and again 2020.
Worship and Discipleship: My story about worship. Not only is worship what we, creatures of God are expected to do. it is also the heart of how we're being formed into the image of the one we worship. Click on the link in the drop down menu under 'sacred sagas' and read all about it.
