2013-11-27T15:32:48-05:00

Last updated on: November 27, 2013 at 3:32 pm   By

Lectionary Reflections for December 1 2013  Isaiah 2:1-5 Psalm 122 Romans 13:11-14 Matthew 24:36-44 Advent awakens us to visions of a glorious future.  We hear of God’s aim for history, and recognize that the fulfillment of God’s aim is always partial.  God does not fully control the historical process but inspires the evolution of persons and communities.  Our own readiness can tip the balance towards God’s vision in our personal lives and communities. Isaiah describes God’s new, but future, age. ... Read more

2013-11-27T15:22:58-05:00

Last updated on: November 27, 2013 at 3:22 pm   By

As I read Susan Vogt’s Blessed by Less: Clearing Your Life of Clutter by Living Lightly, I was confronted with the challenges of living simply in a complicated world. While I don’t live extravagantly or have fewer professional demands than many urban and suburban parents with children, twenty-first century middle class living is extravagant and cluttered by comparison to any previous time. It is clear that what we deem necessities were luxuries in an earlier era. I don’t want to go... Read more

2013-11-19T00:51:15-05:00

Last updated on: November 19, 2013 at 12:51 am   By

Robert Tracy McKenzie does a masterful job of liberating the pilgrims from the cultural and economic myths that often disguise their faith and practices in his new book The First Thanksgiving. He sees them as God-centered people, leery of religious holidays, and focused on covenant with God and one another. The pilgrims were inspired by the necessity of caring for each other; their faith and economics were a far cry from today’s individualistic capitalism and religious life. Covenant means that... Read more

2013-11-18T15:27:21-05:00

Last updated on: November 18, 2013 at 3:27 pm   By

A Response to The Bonhoeffer Reader, edited by  Clifford J. Green and Michael P. DeJonge Few theologians have responded as creatively and forthrightly to the postmodern challenge as Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Bonhoeffer recognized the pluralistic, multi-centered, experience-oriented world of our current religious landscape. He imagined an emerging Christianity, no longer at the center of culture, but at the margins, and making these same margins the ground of a frontier faith. Postmodernism presented a threat to the old-time religion and Christian supremacy,... Read more

2013-11-18T14:11:07-05:00

Last updated on: November 18, 2013 at 2:11 pm   By

For over forty years, I’ve celebrated each Christmas season by watching It’s a Wonderful Life. I’m sure I’m not the only who has to reach for a handkerchief in the course of observing George Bailey’s adventures in self-discovery. Overwhelmed by financial failure and the frustrations of daily life, Bailey contemplates suicide until he is confronted by an angelic visitor who shows him the panorama of his life: despite his regrets about missing out on his great dream of traveling the... Read more

2013-11-18T14:02:12-05:00

Last updated on: November 18, 2013 at 2:02 pm   By

Lectionary Reflections on The Reign of Christ Sunday November 24, 2013 Isaiah 23:1-6; Psalm 46; Colossians 1:11-20; Luke 23:33-43 Universality and Intimacy  Can we talk about Christ the King or the Reign of Christ Sunday in a pluralistic age? At first glance, there is something anachronistic about claiming Christological superiority in a postmodern age of seekers, multiple faiths, and self-described spiritual but not religious persons.  Need universality lead to imperialism?  Can we claim universality in terms of God’s presence in the ministry and... Read more

2013-11-12T19:05:40-05:00

Last updated on: November 12, 2013 at 7:05 pm   By

Lectionary Reflections for November 17, 2013 Divine Creativity and Human Agency  Taken together today’s lectionary readings proclaim that God is active and innovative, working toward a realm of wholeness encompassing humanity and the non-human world and so should we.  God is involved in world-transformation, and so should we.  God’s agency inspires our own agency and creativity.  We are God’s partners in promoting the realm of Shalom.  An active God says “all hands on deck.  Let’s get to work.  Together we... Read more

2013-11-04T17:52:03-05:00

Last updated on: November 4, 2013 at 5:52 pm   By

A wise theologian once noted that we should not speculate on the furniture of heaven or the temperature of hell. Obviously, Emanuel Swedenborg did not take his advice. In Our Life After Death, Swedenborg graphically describes his mystic vision of heaven, hell, and the postmortem experiences of humankind. In contrast to the generally rosy scenes described in most near death experiences, Swedenborg claims direct knowledge of hellish as well as heavenly states. We can’t run away from our lives, even... Read more

2013-11-04T14:17:29-05:00

Last updated on: November 4, 2013 at 2:17 pm   By

Lectionary Reflections for  November 10, 2013 Haggai 1:15b-2:9; Psalm 145:1-5, 17-21; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17; John 20:27-38 Today’s passages relate to the authority of prophets and world spiritual leaders such as Jesus. God’s word touches prophets; it is also present in the beauty of the universe and the moral arc of history, both of which reflect God’s wise and patient providence. We can experience inner authority by aligning ourselves with God’s vision of the future, and while we can’t know the exact nature... Read more

2013-11-01T17:22:23-04:00

Last updated on: November 1, 2013 at 5:22 pm   By

N. T. Wright’s magisterial text Paul and the Faithfulness of God is destined to become a classic in Pauline theological studies. As a pastor and theologian, like Wright, I join the study and the pulpit and the library and hospital room.  My preaching and pastoral care are grounded in theological reflection and my theology finds its inspiration in pastoral care, spiritual direction, and the weekly responsibilities of preaching God’s good news and leading a congregation on Cape Cod. I have... Read more

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