I John 3:16-24: The Love of God and the Needs of our Neighbors

April 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Eric D. Barreto The presidential election season is in full bloom. Political sniping will soon reach a new apex. As the months go by, we will grow weary of the coarse political discourse and will breathe a sigh of relief on November 5th. And yet, the political season is an opportune time to turn to the texts of our faith and be reminded of the values that we hold most dear. This is an opportune time to remember that politics--though vitally important--are only one sliver of our ever … [Read more...]

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Mark 9:2-9: Visions of Jesus on the Mountain

February 16, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Barbara Kay Lundblad Is there room in our lives for visions we cannot explain? Have we closed our minds to truth that doesn’t fit our rational categories? In her book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, Annie Dillard shares stories of doctors who performed early cataract surgery in Europe. When a doctor removed bandages from one girl’s eyes, she saw “the tree with the lights in it.” Those words sent Dillard on her own journey. “It was for this tree I searched through the peach orchards of … [Read more...]

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1 Samuel 3:1-20: Prayerful Listening, Prophetic Proclaiming

January 12, 2012 By Leave a Comment

By Luke A. Powery This upcoming weekend leads into the day which celebrates the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  Dr. King was a preacher, pastor, and civil rights activist. When people remember Dr. King, one of the first things they may think of is his “I Have a Dream” speech delivered before the Lincoln Memorial on August 28, 1963 for the March on Washington, D.C. for Civil Rights. He was a gifted orator rooted in the black church tradition. But he was so much more than an … [Read more...]

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Mark 1:1-8: God Barges Into Our Lives

December 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment

By Michael Joseph Brown Beginnings can be abrupt. Our minds tend to search, often in vain, for the cause or the reason for a movement when, in truth, movements are frequently more the product of a confluence of causes or reasons rather than attributable to just one. … [Read more...]

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