I write this only one day after President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the Paris Climate Agreement which had been agreed to by 195 nations and ratified by 148 of those. We now join Syria, Nicaragua, and the Holy See as the sole outliers to the agreement. Syria could hardly sign while its country was self-destructing in civil war, Nicaragua did not sign, citing inadequate punishments for nations that failed to meet their stated goals (though the president of... Read more

( Lectionary for June 4, 2017) It is well nigh inconceivable that a preacher would not address Acts 2 on the day of Pentecost, since that day is based squarely on the story that Acts 2 enshrines. What would possess any preacher to turn to Numbers, that eclectic book of the Hebrew Bible, to announce the good news of the day? I, for one, can think of several reasons, some perhaps more serious than others. I, Hebrew scholar that I am,... Read more

The photographic image of Donald Trump’s signature tower in New York City has appeared in newspapers for years, but has become ubiquitous since the shocking election of Nov, 2016. The fact that the First Lady of the land, along with her son, spends nearly all of their time there, as opposed to the White House, makes the tower all the more well-known. It is fantastically, obscenely fitted out with features only the super rich can afford. Little wonder that Melania... Read more

(Lectionary for May 28, 2017) Here we are at the last Sunday before Pentecost, and the lectionary really gives us a couple of shots at Acts 1. May 25, a Thursday this year, presents us with the story of the Ascension of the Lord, that space age view of Jesus, after his resurrection, floating up into the sky in the sight of his slack-jawed disciples, who stand in shocked silence while their master disappears, a la Elijah, into the blue.... Read more

Now, I know what you may be thinking. I have been after our 45th president tooth and claw for many weeks now, using the Bible as a mirror of his thoughts and actions in as many and varied ways as I can. I will be honest: I am quite astonished how many parts of the scriptures have been illuminative of The Donald’s egregious, incompetent actions in the four months after his surprising and appalling election. If I sound anxious and... Read more

(Lectionary for May 21, 2017) “Now all the Athenians and the foreigners living there would spend their time in nothing but telling or hearing something new” (Acts 17:21). That sentence was surely written by someone who delighted in the tried and true, the stable and dependable, the established and the certain. In fact, it was written by Luke, the author of the third gospel and was composed sometime in the eighth decade ofthe first century, some two generations after the... Read more

I have had the chance now to witness 100 days of the Donald Trump presidency, and I can conclude several things from these observations. First, The Donald is not going to change one whit. Those who suggested that he might alter his behaviors in the face of his now awesome responsibilities, have been proven wrong; he remains the same man, short-tempered, ill-informed, and vindictive against those who dare disagree. Second, his ignorance appears to have few bounds. Yesterday, he opined... Read more

(Lectionary for May 7, 2017) “From each according to their ability; to each according to their need.” That, of course, is the hallmark claim of Karl Marx in his ground-breaking work on labor and class that became the idealized foundation of the world wide Communist movement. It is a grand and enviable vision. Unfortunately, it was never, and has never been, realized in any large community. 20th century Russia, the collapsed USSR, was the most enduring attempt to make it... Read more

As we once again exit the events at Easter, I was reminded of the craven lying that the Great Fisherman, Peter, engaged in around that Jerusalem courtyard fire nearly two millennia ago. This is, of course, the same Peter to whom Jesus earlier in Matthew’s Gospel handed the keys to the kingdom, metaphorical keys that in later history became quite literal as the Vatican announced that lying Peter was in reality the first pope. According to the Book of the... Read more

I must begin with an apology. I have not been able to write my usual blogs for two weeks, not because I have been lazy, and not because I have tired of the task, one I have taken up for 6 or 7 years. I have not written, because my wife and I, after 32 years in our home in Dallas and after over 40 years in that same city, are pulling up our deep southwestern roots and relocating to... Read more