In the exceedingly odd biblical book of Ezekiel, the prophet receives two separate calls from YHWH. The first occurs in the midst of the weird visions of the chariot and the scroll (Ez.1-2), while the second is the far more direct call in Ez.33. In the latter calling Ezekiel is warned that if “the sentinel (or “watcher”) sees the sword coming upon the land and blows the trumpet and warns the people,” it is then up to the people to... Read more

Last week I introduced our six-week look at the enigmatic book of Revelation with a brief glance at chapter 1, especially at its concern with numerology. This sort of writing, commonly called apocalyptic, enjoyed the play of numbers as it expressed important ideas to its readers/hearers. We saw that John the Revelator particularly used the numbers 3 and 7 as he began to unroll his dramatic tale of God as ruler of all things and God’s rejection of the economic... Read more

At a recent rally, just before he finally announced his official run for the White House, the South Bend, IN mayor, Pete Buttigieg (his teeth snarling last name has forced many of his fans to call him Mayor Pete!) responded to a general comment attributed to Mike Pence, the Vice-President of the US, as follows: “I do not know quite how to reply to the Vice-President’s notion that my sexual orientation is problematic to him, since the answer is in... Read more

This year in the lectionary, the collectors offer to the preacher in the season of Easter a short series based on the book of Revelation. From the second Sunday of Easter through the seventh, up to the Day of Pentecost, the preacher may choose passages from the Revelation of St. John, the Divine, from Rev.1 right through to the end in chapter 22. Since the Hebrew Bible is traditionally avoided during this season, save the Psalms, (for reasons that have... Read more

I have observed over the years that however grand and glorious the celebration of Easter may be, with all choirs on deck, the trumpets blazing, the organ pulling out all of its stops, the sermon of the progressive pastor is a bit of a mine field. Nearly all of the regular attendees will be there, of course, joined by that mysterious bunch who like lemmings to the sea find their ways to the sanctuary on this candy-strewn, bunny rabbit day.... Read more

I have not been able to preach an Easter sermon for many years; after all, not many preachers will yield their pulpit to an outsider on that day of all days. Or if she does, I shudder to think what her congregation might think! I was last able to preach on an Easter Sunday some 22 years ago when a pastor decided to leave his church on Palm Sunday, leaving interim me to fill in for a couple of months.... Read more

Once again it is time for that long-practiced event that inaugurates Holy Week, Palm/Passion Sunday. Though different texts are chosen for a church’s emphasis on this day—Ps.118 for Palm Sunday and Is.50:4-9a for Passion Sunday—I think it fair to say that in many churches both focuses are likely to be found. More than a few congregations would not dare to begin this sacred week without the requisite children’s parade, snaking down the aisles of the church, shouting, “Hosanna,” which means... Read more

This upcoming July 8 will be my 73th birthday. My father died when he was 73, so I am now thinking a bit about mortality. It is not that I anticipate death in my near future. Indeed, my health appears to be good; I exercise fairly regularly, though not as often as I should. I eat fairly well, although my sugar intake is too high, I am sure. I weigh perhaps 10 pounds more than I ought, but I have... Read more

For those of you who read my musings more regularly, you remember that I took II-Isaiah to task a few weeks ago due to his conviction that YHWH was omnipotent, the author of all actions in the universe, both good and bad. I found that problematic, especially for those of us doing theology in the 21st century. An omnipotent God leaves us with the vast problem of divine culpability for the world’s evil—of which there seems to be no end.... Read more

I have written last year, and perhaps the year before, that I am a great lover of the game of baseball. I watch other sports, but baseball has always been my first love. Football is a violent game for furiously huge men whose blood and sweat define the outcome of the game. I could never play football, because I am and always have been far too small and far too timid. Basketball is for freaks of nature, gigantic men, and... Read more