Jesus said, “I give my sheep eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand.” (John 10.28) The convergence of tragic events — bombings in Boston, cowardice in the US Senate, attempts to poison officials, surging profits at the banks that nearly bankrupted the nation — sent me to YouTube. I happened upon a link to videos showing amazing acts of kindness and courage. None appeared in newspaper headlines. They just happened because... Read more

“The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor …”  (Isaiah 61:1-2) “A true revolution of values will soon cause us to question the fairness and justice of many of our past and present policies. On the one hand,... Read more

But a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit immediately heard about him, and she came and bowed down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, of Syrophoenician origin. She begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. He said to her, ‘Let the children be fed first, for it is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.’ But she answered him, ‘Sir, even the dogs under the table... Read more

While researching my sermon for last Sunday, I came across an article written by Lisa Miller, a journalist who, with this article, has submitted her final contribution to the “Washington Post.” As I reflected on what it means to live with grace and wrestle with doubts, I thought Ms. Miller said it better than I could: I met a man last week who hoped to study grace. A funeral director from Tennessee, he knew grace when he saw it, in... Read more

Around 12:30 a.m. on April 4, 2006 a silver 2002 Saturn with New Jersey plates crashed through the wrought-iron gate on the north side of Gramercy Park.  Gramercy Park is a locked part in the heart of New York City: only certain people have keys.  It is fancy, beautiful and closed.  The driver did $60,000 worth of damage, taking out a new fiberglass planter and damaging the park gate. The Park is located at the south end of Lexington Avenue,... Read more

I used to call the people who come to services on only the highest of holidays, get the best music, wear the best clothes, see the best flowers, take up the best seats in the crowded sanctuary, only to abandon the rest of us to pick up the heat bills, custodial service and high comic drama of church administration, the “Easter Only Crowd.”  I have changed. Even I, who has never missed an Easter Sunday in 65 years, have no... Read more

The journey to what the Children’s Defense Fund calls “common sense gun safety laws” will not be easy. We know that the debate will be contentious and divisive. But the difficulty of the passage should not be reason to retreat or take an easier way. Friends, the lives of our brothers and sisters in general and our children specifically are literally at stake. As noted on the CDF’s site: •     Since the 113th Congress convened 1,253 children have been shot... Read more

This week as I was researching my sermon for Sunday, I came across as article written by Lisa Miller, a journalist who with this article, has submitted her final contribution to the Washington Post. As I reflected on what it means to live with grace and wrestle with doubts, I thought Ms. Miller said better than I could: I met a man last week who hoped to study grace. A funeral director from Tennessee, he knew grace when he saw... Read more

In my Easter sermon, I used an illustration that I suspect many savvy pastors around the country used. It was taken from the movie The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. I watched it several weeks ago when I was stuck in a hotel far from home. Then, this past week, in preparation for my Easter sermon, we watched it again. If you have not seen it, I commend it to you. More important than the movie, though, I also commend to... Read more

Consecrating communion on Easter Sunday is tough. You don’t want to remind people of the events that were commemorated on Maundy Thursday, because Easter is on the other side of that “last supper.” That is really the point. It wasn’t the last supper with Jesus. This Sunday we will read how the disciples were gathered for a meal when Jesus suddenly appeared to them. Then we have the Road to Emmaus story in which they don’t recognize the risen Christ... Read more