I don’t understand the outcry from some quarters that, “There’s nothing to watch on Netflix Instant.” I couldn’t disagree more. There are currently 37 films in my “Instant” queue that — if there were but world enough and time — I would be watching immediately. To name only a few: Meek’s Cutoff, Biutiful, Rabbit Hole, and Antichrist. For anyone unsure of what to watch next, Netflix provides tons of recommendations (click on the “Watch Instantly” tab), but most additions to... Read more
This list is in alphabetical order (because agonizing over a precise order would take out all the fun). Also, I am limiting myself to DVDs received in the mail. I will post a follow-up list sometime this week with my favorite Netflix Instant streamed in the past year. This list also excludes some great films I saw in the theater this past year, which could perhaps be another future list. I also have to give credit to one of my... Read more
This list is not the best of new releases in 2011, but rather the best of the CDs I listened to for the first time this past year. I also have to give credit to NPR’s free All Song’s Considered podcast, which introduced me to many of these albums, especially the ones released this year. This list is also in alphabetical order (because agonizing over a precise order would take all the fun out of making this list): (more…) Read more
I said to my soul, be still, and let the dark come upon you Which shall be the darkness of God. As, in a theatre, The lights are extinguished, for the scene to be changed With a hollow rumble of wings, with a movement of darkness on darkness, And we know that the hills and the trees, the distant panorama And the bold imposing facade are all being rolled away — Or as, when an underground train, in the tube,... Read more
The following is the first of two lectionary commentaries on the Gospel lesson for the 4th Sunday of Advent. The second is titled “Let It Be” and focuses on the final five verses of this week’s reading from Luke 1. Focal Question: How is God calling you this Advent season to slow down, open your eyes in wonder, and expectantly wait for is already in the process of being born? I’m always wary of using the word “countless” — as... Read more
Texas Governor Rick Perry released a new thirty-second presidential campaign ad yesterday titled, “Strong.” Here’s the transcript: I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m a Christian. But you don’t need to be in the pew every Sunday to know there’s something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can’t openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school. As president, I’ll end Obama’s war on religion. And I’ll fight against liberal attacks on our religious heritage.... Read more
A few months ago I made an aside in my review of the book Will There Be Faith? A New Vision for Educating and Growing Disciples that the author Thomas Groome, a master in the field of Christian Education, includes one of the best responses I’ve ever heard to the statement from his nine-year-old son, “Hey, Dad, I think I don’t believe in Santa Claus anymore” (300-301). In the spirit of the holidays, I will share Groome’s response. Groome calls his model “Life... Read more
The following are the top ten best books I’ve read so far this year in alphabetical order by the author’s last name (because agonizing over a precise order would take all the fun out of making this list): Cynthia Bourgeault, The Wisdom Way of Knowing: Reclaiming An Ancient Tradition to Awaken the Heart: I have been a fan for many years of Bourgeault’s work, including her most recent book The Meaning of Mary Magdalene: Discovering the Woman at the Heart of... Read more
Patheos recently invited responses in 100 words or less to the question, ”How is God coming into the world this Advent?” My response was the following: At the first Advent (so to speak), the angel said to Mary about the still-unborn Jesus, “Blessed is the fruit of your womb” (Lk. 1:42). (See the precedent in Dt. 28:4.) This Advent, God is being birthed into the world again wherever there is what Paul called the “fruit of the Spirit . . .... Read more
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“Let It Be” (A Progressive Christian Lectionary Commentary for the 4th Sunday of Advent)
The following is the second of two lectionary commentaries on the Gospel lesson for the 4th Sunday of Advent.The first is titled “Hail Mary, Full of Grace” and focuses on the first part of this week’s this week’s reading from Luke 1. Focal Question 1: What would Christianity look like if the focus were birth, not death; human flourishing, not suffering; and this world, not the next? Focal Question 2: How is God inviting you in the coming days and weeks to... Read more