Voices & Echoes Isaiah 40: 1-11, Micah 5: 2-5a, John 1 6-8, 19-28, Luke 1: 26-38 Back when I was en English major, we used to talk about how the texts would speak to each other, across generations and genres. The idea is that…
Wait Mark 13: 24-37 I was trying to watch a video on Hulu last week. I guess it had been a while since I’d done that because I was surprised to see that underneath the video I selected, there was a little box with…
Fear and Hope Matthew 25: 14-30 All over the gospels we hear Jesus introduce a parable by saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who…” and then he tells a story. Some of the stories seem like the life we know and…
Asleep and Awake Matthew 25: 1-13 I try to listen carefully whenever Jesus describes the kingdom of heaven. He’s not describing what heaven is like, as in that “place” we go after we die. But he is describing how God sees things and…
The “To Be” List Matthew 5: 1-12 As I was driving last week, I was introduced to Claudia Folska, a blind dual doctorate student at the University of Colorado in Denver. She is studying urban design and cognitive science, which she is putting to…
What Belongs to God? Matthew 22: 15- 22 Here’s what today’s gospel reading reminds me of: You know how it is when you are in the check out line at the grocery store and you’re thinking, Wow, I put more in the cart than…
World Communion Psalm 19 One of my favorite places I have ever camped or backpacked is in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. Once you make your way through the strip malls and tourist traps and theme parks of Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg the…
Welcome Home Luke 15: 11-32 There is a church in Tennessee. Heartsong United Methodist. In 2009, when they heard that a local mosque had bought the property across the street, they erected a huge sign on the lawn of the church: “Heartsong Church welcomes Memphis…
First and Last Matthew 20: 1-16 I want to start with an image from our weekly life together at the Wesley Foundation. As you know, one of our main weekly gatherings is for dinner and forum on Thursday nights. Cooks are in the kitchen…
Double-Sided Tape Matthew 18: 21-35 Christian pilgrim and writer Anne Lamott has a great way of putting things. She is direct, frank, and unflinchingly honest. On forgiveness, or the lack thereof, she writes: “Not forgiving is like drinking rat poison and then waiting for…
