Drops Upon the Heart

Last updated on: April 17, 2023 at 4:40 pm By Vance Morgan

In the interdisciplinary program I teach in and used to direct, the first semester faculty have to make many tough choices. Iliad or Odyssey? What texts from the Hebrew Scriptures? The New Testament? What to use from Plato and Aristotle–or, God forbid, Plato or Aristotle? And no less challenging—which of the triumvirate of great Greek tragedians? Usually it is a toss-up between the profundity of Sophocles and the brilliance of Euripides, but in one recent fall semester, my teammate and I opted for the... Read more

Spending Time with my Favorite Disciple and my Favorite Philosopher

Last updated on: April 7, 2023 at 12:39 pm By Vance Morgan

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The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty Anne Lamott As is our custom, Jeanne and I watched Franco Zefferelli’s classic “Jesus of Nazareth”–all six hours of it–during the recently ended Holy Week. Jesus’ disciple Thomas, the focus of today’s gospel reading, is presented as the servant of Jairus, the wealthy man whose daughter Jesus raises from the dead. Since he is the one who sent word to Jairus that his daughter has died, Thomas takes great umbrage when... Read more

Jesus, Death, and Taxes

Last updated on: April 10, 2023 at 12:04 pm By Vance Morgan

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Thanks to the calendar, we get three extra days to file our taxes this year (next Tuesday, April 18th). Not as good as the extra three months in 2020 and the extra month in 2021 that we got in the pandemic years, but three extra days is three extra days. But just like death, taxes are inevitable. According to a recent New Yorker cartoon, it’s an open question as to which is worse. Permit me to state the obvious: No... Read more

A Very Reluctant Rose

Last updated on: April 11, 2023 at 10:53 am By Vance Morgan

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A few days ago on campus I detected a familiar, seasonal odor wafting on the breeze. “I love the smell of mulch in the morning!” I thought as I walked past some landscaping guys. They were spraying mulch through a hose into one of the many areas on campus where there will be beautiful flowers soon. If I had that setup at home, I would be able to provide our bushes and trees with enough mulch for the season in... Read more

When Easter Fades, Where is Jesus to be Found?

Last updated on: April 6, 2023 at 1:48 pm By Vance Morgan

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God is not an insurance agent. H. G. Wells If you are a college basketball fan, you know who Rick Pitino is. He recently signed a contract to be the head coach of the St. John’s University Red Storm, bringing with him a long career of success as a coach as well as a lot of personal baggage. During his tenure as the coach of the Boston Celtics from 1997-2001, Pitino was often asked about when, if ever, the then-mediocre... Read more

God is With Us–even on Good Friday

Last updated on: March 28, 2023 at 9:39 am By Vance Morgan

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During the college basketball season, I occasionally watch a replay of the Providence Friars’ most recent game (when we win) the next day. The moment to moment drama can be tense in replay, even when we know what the outcome will be. We never watch a loss the next day—why submit ourselves voluntarily to an experience that we know ends badly? Even the worst of times can be weathered and perhaps appreciated when one knows that things work out in... Read more

Judas or Peter? A Holy Thursday Reflection

Last updated on: April 5, 2023 at 6:00 pm By Vance Morgan

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That to which your heart clings and entrusts itself is really your God. Martin Luther The drama of Thursday into early Friday of Holy Week is both familiar and inescapable. The Last Supper. The Garden of Gethsemane. Judas’ betrayal. Peter’s denial. All inexorably leading to trial, conviction, and crucifixion. The elements of the story are so familiar to Christians and others that it is tempting to suppose that there are no more fresh takes or new perspectives to consider on... Read more

What Happens at the Fig Tree Stays at the Fig Tree

Last updated on: April 3, 2023 at 9:39 am By Vance Morgan

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For those unfamiliar with the liturgical calendar, the Sunday and feast day assigned readings rotate through a three-year cycle, each yearly cycle beginning with the first Sunday of Advent. This year the Holy Week gospel texts are from John which, to be honest, doesn’t make me happy. Some people claim to love John’s gospel the most, but I’m not one of them. The Jesus of the Gospel of John loves to pontificate and sounds a lot more like a theologian... Read more

Blessed is He Who Comes: A Palm Sunday Meditation

Last updated on: March 31, 2023 at 9:21 am By Vance Morgan

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Today is Palm Sunday, one of the most dramatic days on the liturgical calendar. But there is one reported event attributed to Palm Sunday that makes an appearance in the liturgy every Sunday. And each time I say or sing this part of the liturgy, I remember a beloved colleague. Rodney Delasanta was one of best teachers and colleagues I ever had the privilege of knowing. Rodney was a true Renaissance man—a Chaucer scholar, family man, sports fan (especially the... Read more

Lifting the Fog from Faith

Last updated on: March 26, 2023 at 6:37 pm By Vance Morgan

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What we call doubt is often simply dullness of mind and spirit, not the absence of faith at all, but faith latent in the lives we are not quite living, God dormant in the world to which we are not quite giving our best selves. Christopher Wiman I have noticed over the past several months that my Keurig coffee tastes have changed. In the past I have always considered Starbucks coffee to be unpalatably strong, opting instead–as a good New... Read more