Few people have paid the price that Salman Rushdie has paid for his dedication to telling the truth. The implicit criticism of Islam imbedded in his book, Satanic Verses, earned him a fatwa calling for his assassination. And, after a prolonged period of good fortune, in August of 2023, he suffered a near fatal knife attack that cost him his sight in one eye. One has to take seriously that kind of sacrifice and the insights that follow from it.... Read more
Going all the way back to my childhood, one of my interests has been World War II. It was probably prompted by the fact that my father and my uncle were both in the Army Air Corps. And I have vivid memories of seeing the plexiglass hearts that my grandmother wore, which bore the insignia of the Air Corps. Of course, there are more than personal reasons for familiarizing ourselves with the choices that World War II generation faced. Hard... Read more
There are a few places I only go under duress. Hobby Lobby is one of them. I know its virtues, and I can’t completely explain my reaction to the place. But just feet within the entrance, I begin wondering how soon I can check out. Late in September we made one of those runs to Hobby Lobby, and I was astounded to discover that you could shop for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas right after Labor Day. It made my... Read more
2 In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be enrolled. 2 This was the first enrollment, when Quirin′i-us was governor of Syria. 3 And all went to be enrolled, each to his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, from the city of Nazareth, to Judea, to the city of David, which is called Bethlehem, because he was of the house and lineage of David, 5 to be enrolled with Mary, his betrothed, who was with child. 6 And while... Read more
Reflection Four As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing floor and... Read more
Jewish philosopher, Emmanuel Levinas, argues that “forgiveness acts upon the past, somehow repeats the event, purifying it.” I haven’t finished reading through all that Levinas has to say about forgiveness. But from a Christian and – for that matter – a Jewish perspective, it can be argued that the purification he describes is possible only in God. It is God alone who holds the past. It is God alone who can heal the past. It is God alone who knows... Read more
In some ways, what has been even more troubling than the murder of UnitedHealthgroup’s CEO, Brian Thompson, has been the support that people have offered for his murderer. Citing the number of people who have theoretically died or suffered thanks to the decisions made by health insurance companies, the amount of money made by CEOs, and supposed injustices of one kind or another, an unsettling number of spectators to the whole tragedy have argued that Thompson’s murder was understandable, if... Read more
Reflection Two Friends, today I continue our Advent series at Good Shepherd, Brentwood, TN, entitled “Normal isn’t coming back. Jesus is.” Today’s focus is entitled, “Leaving behind ‘Left Behind’.” +++++ There is probably no language in the whole of Scripture that is more often misunderstood than apocalyptic – which is the technical term that applies to this reading from . It is language scattered across the prophetic literature of the Old Testament. It appears in the Book of Daniel. ... Read more
Reflection One “Normal isn’t coming back. Jesus is.” That’s the title of our Advent preaching series, and we are beginning it a week early because the theme of Christ the King fits well with it. In advance of launching this effort, I got two pieces of in-put. One was from the Rector. She told me, “Don’t use the word, “eschatology”. “But that’s what Advent is all about,” I complained. “The return of Christ is at the heart of biblical hope.” ... Read more
Gracious, loving God, we have been entrusted with a nation that honors its citizenry with freedom and responsibility. We are inheritors of a system that provides for the continued well being of that nation, through orderly elections and peaceful changes in leadership. In this conflicted time, when opinions run deep, remind us: that our democratic process is more important than the election any one individual, that no election can produce a result on which we can all agree, and... Read more
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