originally published at North Texas Fellowship of Reconciliation On the 30th of December 2006, I collapsed to the floor of my room in tears. I knew I wasn’t supposed to be crying. I was a few weeks away from beginning my first semester at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. I was supposed to believe that God brings about absolute vengeance and retribution…yet there I was on the ground crying. I had never known Saddam Hussein,... Read more
Not all that long ago, I spoke on the phone with a friend of mine back home in Georgia. After a few moments, my friend informed me that her beloved grandmother had terminal cancer. After a few moments of tears and grief, I declared, “Well, I guess the truth of the matter is that we are all terminal.” Life in the physical sense is always terminal. The truth is that we all die. Death is a known... Read more
Since the various early councils to construct a cannon or scripture, the Bible has often been a tool of great evil. This morning, let’s do a quick run through of some evil things that the Bible says. In addition to these initial passages, all of the further passages I read will be from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible. On homosexuality: Leviticus 20:33: “If a man lies with a male as with a woman, both... Read more
In the folk religion of Japan, it is often the case that the stranger to the village brings truth, love and divinity. The stranger the village is often suspicious of brings life changing surprises and revelations. And so it is, on this day we gather in a strange place to seek to accomplish strange feats desperately desiring to be guided by that still small voice of the stranger. In this moment, may we not be afraid to listen to the... Read more
Take a long look at this man. His name is Edgar Arias Tamayo and he is a native of Mexico. Mr. Tamayo was convicted of killing Houston Police Officer Guy Gaddis with three shots to the back of his head inside of a police cruiser. No matter what you think about him or the crime he was convicted of, it is important to remember that Mr. Tamayo is a child of God. Tonight, Mr. Tamayo was granted a... Read more
Yesterday, I marched with the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Parade here in Dallas, Texas. As the parade got congested and slowed almost to a stop, I took the opportunity to get a different experience and leave the parade route to enter into the areas where people were watching the parade. As I was standing on a sidewalk, a woman came up to me and asked, “Are you from New... Read more
The nation will stop to celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. tomorrow and on this day I intend for us to do the same. Dr. King spoke often of a beloved community…a place of economic and social justice where people are reconciled to each other in love…this morning we are going to talk about how the journey to that space of beloved community begins with the enemy and ends with you or me or... Read more
God we gather to honor the legacy of your son…the great purveyor of peace and justice Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On this day, let our minds and hearts be not far from Dr. King’s eschatological notion of a Beloved Community…that magical and majestic space where all people are ushered into a community of love and justice But also let us not fail to realize that such a Beloved Community begins deep within us We must learn to... Read more
Back in college, I went on a few dates with a woman that I assumed was a Christian…as it is statistically safe to assume that just about everyone you meet in Auburn, Alabama is a Christian. After a few dates, I began to talk in flowery language about my dedication and love for Jesus. This woman looked at me like I had lost my mind and replied, “You know I am an atheist.” I freaked out. I drove as fast... Read more
It is a beautiful thing to be gathered here with you this evening around the light of candles. It feels like we are staying awake together. With torture and execution looming, Jesus is in anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane and requests that the disciples stay awake in Matthew 26. When Jesus needs the disciples the most, the disciples keep falling asleep. Jesus is let down. Ultimately, the disciples just can’t stay awake and it adds to Jesus’... Read more
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