RSS FeedTHANKSGIVING
When Thanksgiving approaches I receive in the mail a catalogue from the New Braunfels Smokehouse in Texas. We used to enjoy eating in their restaurant and buying goods from their shop when we lived in San Antonio. In fact the owners were members of my congregation. I...
I AM COMING SOON
Eugene Peterson A common American Southern farewell is “Y’all come back and see us, you hear!”. It is an invitation to return and visit. But it is not expected that you will. The sentiment expressed is that we enjoyed your visit, and you are always welcome, but we...
AGING
Will Willimon is a retired Methodist bishop, a former Dean of the chapel at Duke University, and is now professor of the practice of Christian ministry at Duke Divinity School. He is the author of many valuable books on the Christian faith. His AGING: Growing Old in...
THE IMMIGRATION DEBATE
The open borders of the European Union, the United Kingdom and the debate over our border with Mexico have fueled much political rhetoric about national security, identity, culture and jobs. As Christians we feel compassion for the have nots and for those seeking a...
BEING A BURDEN
In his book on aging Will Willimon includes a sermon he preached on the blessedness of being a burden. I’ve got a couple of children; do I want to be a burden to them in my old age? Well, why not? They have been a burden to me. True, I did not give them birth, but I...
THE NEED FOR RELEVANCE
When I was in my twenties and ministering to students in London and on the staff of All Souls Church, Langham Place, next to the headquarters of the BBC, I became aware of the concerns of young people as they struggled with their identities, their purpose, their...
ALL SOULS DAY OF THE DEAD
November 1st has always been celebrated as All Saints’ Day when Christians remember their communion with all the saints, the unity of God’s people in this world and the next. November 2nd is also celebrated as All Souls’ Day when Christians commemorate all the...
ALL SAINTS DAY
Jonathan Swift in Gulliver’s Travels invented the immortal Stuldbrugs of the flying island of Laputa. Gulliver supposed they would be wise, serene and knowledgeable because of their great age, and instead found them the most miserable of creatures, excruciatingly...
THE MOST MAGNIFICENT NOVEL EVER WRITTEN
I have recently reread Fyodor Dostoevsky’s (1821-1881) masterpiece and longest novel The Brothers Karamazov, translated from the Russian by Michael R. Katz (2023). Sigmund Freud called it “the most magnificent novel ever written”. This is the third time I have read...
REVELATION 14 & 15
REVELATION 14:1-5 John now offers a sevenfold description of the 144,000. “They did not defile themselves with women” (v.4) does not mean that the redeemed are men only. It needs to be read here in three contexts: 1. The use of sexual imagery as a metaphor for worship...
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