Monthly Archives: February 2007

Genesis 28:15-17 And the Lord stood beside him and said, “I am the Lord, the God of Abraham your father and the God of Isaac; the land on which you lie I will give to you and to your offspring; and your offspring shall be like the dust of the earth, and you shall spread … Continue reading →

Call to Worship Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana. ~ Groucho Marx Opening Prayer Amazing creative God, You shock us constantly, You pour grace through the cracks in our lives, Even in the winter cold it leaks in, And warms our hearts. Saint Groucho Marx? Who knew? But the wisdom is … Continue reading →

This Sunday evening I am just back from the Carlson Leadership Academy of Sigma Phi Epsilon here in the Northeast region, and am busy banging out my sermon for Ash Wednesday morning worship at the hospital (Sick people don’t take federal holidays, so tomorrow I’m at the hospital, and Tuesday back in class…). My theme … Continue reading →

My coursework this term includes a seminar with Helmut Koester on Thessalonians and a course on Buddhist Meditation Techniques. The combination of the former’s eschatology and the latter’s emphasis on practice has prompted some reflection on Jesus as an image of the Buddhist monk. Specifically, I am thinking about the model of the renouncer, one … Continue reading →

What do we expect from our God? The Judeans expected a Messiah, a warrior-king that would restore the political independence and military might of Davidic Israel. Some Christians seem to expect a vengeful judge, or maybe a small-minded bookkeeper, tallying the sum total of each life and delivering a judgment, rewarding or punishing. Others look … Continue reading →

Note: After a couple of posts filled with complaint, I thought it might be nice to look at the God-ness of life. Here is a Lenten sermon filled with hope. It was delivered last Spring at MIT. The scripture reading was Mark 8:31-38. We started this season with ashes on our foreheads. You come from … Continue reading →

Back in the good old days… things weren’t always so good. There were cheats and hooligans and dirty play and bad owners. The Oakland Raiders of the 70′s, now there was one repulsive organization! So maybe it just feels like too much at once. Can anyone in the NBA stay out of legal trouble? How … Continue reading →