Be Perfect

Matthew 5:38-48   38“You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39But I say to you, Do not resist an evildoer. But if anyone strikes you on the right cheek, turn the other also; 40and if anyone wants to sue you and take your coat, give your … Continue reading →

Copping Out vs. Doubling Down

There is an old story about a young man who would every day open his Bible looking for direct, personal communication from God. He would close his eyes, let the Bible fall open at random, put his finger down on the page, and then read whatever was at the tip of his finger as a … Continue reading →

George, Irma and Jesus

Something pretty remarkable happened during worship yesterday in one of the congregations I’m blessed to serve. The congregation gathered for worship, sang hymns, and heard scripture read. After reading the Gospel lesson from the Sermon on the Mount, I stood up to preach. Very shortly after the beginning of the sermon, though, we all realized … Continue reading →

The Forgiveness Quandary

One of the simplest, yet most profound, truths I have encountered in life is that “hurting people hurt people.” When we’ve been deeply hurt, we have a tendency to lash out, to want to exact retribution and revenge, to make the person who hurt us hurt as much as we do. We tend to believe … Continue reading →

The Sacred Story

On Friday, February 7th, the world of biblical studies lost a giant. Father Daniel J. Harrington, SJ, died at the Jesuit infirmary of the New England Province of the Society of Jesus, in Weston, Massachusetts. Father Harrington was a biblical scholar of international renown, and to mark his passing, America magazine has published a link … Continue reading →

Who Are You?

The fire danced and flickered, throwing dancing shadows on the wall of the cave. Outside, the cold drizzle continued to fall through the gathering darkness, soaking the already sodden countryside. A damp chill seeped into the cave, promising ice before morning, but inside, next to the fire, there was a small, fragile bubble of warmth. … Continue reading →

In Memoriam: Dietrich Bonhoeffer

Today is the 108th anniversary of the birth of Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Despite being a lifelong Lutheran, I had never heard of Bonhoeffer until I went to seminary. Bonhoeffer was a German pastor, theologian and anti-Nazi dissident. He was a founding member of the Confessing Church, which sought to resist the efforts of the Third Reich … Continue reading →

Heroin and Soda, Logs and Specks

My inclination this morning was to completely unplug from social media for at least 24 hours. I probably should have. Instead, this afternoon I went ahead and scrolled through my Facebook feed and found pretty much what I expected to find: a bunch of self-righteous bleating about Scarlett Johansson’s Super Bowl Ad for Sodastream, and … Continue reading →