Once, Joseph, Mary, and the infant Jesus fled in the middle of the night to escape a murderous ruler. Unfortunately, upon reaching the borders of Egypt, they were met with protesters, taken into custody, and soon deported back to their native land. The day after they were sent back, Herod completed his massacre of the innocents, killing Jesus. And just to send a message to others, he slaughtered Mary and Joseph too. Here ends the Gospel. +++ There is a... Read more
Year A + Proper 10 + Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 I love dirt. I love the way it smells early in the morning, still damp with summer dew. I love the way it feels between my toes when I walk on it after the sunsets, the warmth of the stars still radiating through the soles of my feet. I love the way it gets under my fingernails and refuses to go away. I think I’ve always loved dirt. Maybe it’s part... Read more
This past Sunday on Pentecost, baptisms were celebrated all across the Christian world. It’s a traditional day for baptism, and today, I’m honored to share one touching and poignant story of baptism from a reader, T.R. Sherrill (also a listener to The Moonshine Jesus Show). — David Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” -Matthew 19:14 (NIV) By T. R. Sherrill My mother and my... Read more
The botched execution of Clayton D. Lockett is horrifying. Wait, that’s not quite right. The execution of Clayton D. Lockett is horrifying. The state-sanctioned murder of anyone is horrifying. The White House said today that this particular execution fell short of humane standards. In truth, however, what was inhumane on Tuesday night had nothing to do with him feeling his death and execution. The inhumane part of it is that the state was killing him in the first place. The death penalty... Read more
[Open with dialogue with congregation about wounds] Some wounds never really heal. When I was a journalist, it was my job to bear witness to these kinds of open wounds that life inflicts on the unsuspecting. Like the mother who welcomed her son home in a flag-draped coffin. Or the parents of the teenagers who were pulled out of a car submerged in a frigid river. Or the couple who watched a fire consume a beloved home and the generations... Read more
Sarah Palin is right about baptism and waterboarding. In a speech now heard round the Christian world, Sarah Palin said at an NRA rally that “waterboarding is how we’d baptize terrorists” if she were president. Christians were up in arms about the apparent blasphemy of the statement, shocked that she would sacrilegiously connect waterboarding with the Christian sacrament of baptism. It taps into a long, shameful legacy of Christianity that forced baptism on people of other faiths under threat of... Read more
In Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, author J.K. Rowling introduces readers to one of the singular best magical creatures ever created — the thestral. These magical creatures — compared to something like skeletal horses — are invisible to most, save those who have looked upon death, understood it and internalized it. Thestrals are visible, in other words, only to those who have been baptized into death. They are terrible, frightening looking creatures, and when Harry first sees... Read more
Good Friday — John 18:1-19:42 — Psalm 22 — Isaiah 52:13-53:12 It is finished. How do you hear these final words of Jesus tonight? Is his voice exhausted and trembling as he walks through the dark doorway of death? Is there relief in his words as he realizes the long ordeal of his arrest, torture, and execution on the brutal cross are finally over? Is there defiance in his words, a man who even while being executed is so in... Read more
A few years ago, I had participated in the Pilgrimage for Immigrants in the Atlanta, Georgia, area, a moving and meaningful event that I still have vivid memories about. Because of my parish duties, I haven’t been able to attend again since then, but thankfully organizer Anton Flores-Maisonet of Alterna Community in La Grange, Ga., posts nightlyreflections about the experience. Seriously, I hope you will read his daily reflections. It is how I am walking through Holy Week myself, and I’m... Read more
Go see Noah. As a priest and a person of faith, this is my message to everyone who asks me about this film. Go see it — today — because Noah is exactly what a film about the Bible should be. It is a deeply theological work that raises more questions than it answers. In that sense, it is one of the best biblical films ever made, precisely because it resists answers and seeks to raise questions about the Flood, about God,... Read more
Edges of Faith
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In