Tuesday, May 15, 2018 | Reflections
Before becoming a mother I heard all the stories of how much I’d be reading to my children. How I’d be reading the same story night after night. How I’d have certain books memorized and possibly could recite them in my sleep. It sounded great at the time. How sweet...
Monday, May 14, 2018 | Reflections
One of Luke’s distinctive arguments is that one could be both a good citizen of Rome and a Christian. Over and over, Luke emphasizes how helpful Roman agents are in mitigating the violence of angry crowds. Luke even goes so far as to say that Paul himself is a Roman...
Monday, May 14, 2018 | Reflections
Grant, we pray, Almighty God, that as we believe your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have ascended into heaven, so we may also in heart and mind there ascend, and with him continually dwell; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for...
Monday, May 14, 2018 | Reflections
The post God’s Spirit Comes appeared first on d365 Daily Devotionals. This post appeared here first: God’s Spirit Comes [D365 Daily Devotions]
Sunday, May 13, 2018 | Reflections
There’s no business like church business, eh? There’s a lot of it too. From the budget to the baptistery and, yes, the color of the carpet, church business has to get done. Thus, has it ever been. In this morning’s readings, the apostles have...
Sunday, May 13, 2018 | Reflections
There are many layers to the scene we read today. On one level, Paul is telling the story of how Jesus calls out to him, asking Saul/Paul why he is persecuting the people of the Way. But on another level, Paul is telling this story as his defense against the angry...
Saturday, May 12, 2018 | Reflections
Most of us would probably hesitate to invite Paul to a dinner party; one of Paul’s spiritual gifts is his ability to upset everyone, everywhere he goes. The community of Jews zealous for the law accuse Paul of persuading people to forsake Moses. At the same time, Paul...
Saturday, May 12, 2018 | Reflections
Matthew 7:28 – 8:4 The sun is very bright today. The glare off the hard-packed road makes my eyes burn. It’s hot in the sun, but others have taken up all the spaces under the few trees that grow here. I learned early that a single person sitting alone has a...
Friday, May 11, 2018 | Reflections
As a child, folk tales fascinated me. One of the stories I loved most was the Pied Piper of Hamelin. As you may remember, the Pied Piper sweeps into town and uses his music to rid a village of rats. But when the townspeople refuse to pay him, he uses that same music...
Friday, May 11, 2018 | Reflections
Daily Office Readings for Friday, May 11, 2018: AM Psalm 85, 86; PM Psalm 91, 92 1 Sam. 2:1-10; Eph. 2:1-10; Matt. 7:22-27 Today’s Gospel reading is one of those that, if you’d ever spent any of your youth in Sunday School, or Vacation Bible School, or...
Thursday, May 10, 2018 | Reflections
I had never thought of Paul as an economic disruptor until studying this passage. Much like how Lyft and Airbnb have changed taxis and lodging, Paul’s message disrupts several industries. Artisans, silversmiths, and priests face the challenge of squaring off against...
Thursday, May 10, 2018 | Reflections
Luke 24:44-53 As Paul says, it is pure foolishness to be a Christian if we don’t believe that Christ is resurrected from the dead. And yet I can so easily fall into behaving as though I don’t put any stock in that part of Jesus’ story. When I...
Wednesday, May 9, 2018 | Reflections
Some years ago, I read an article by a classical pianist who described his lifetime of practice as simply growing closer to playing what was written on the page. Playing a piece of music as written sounds easy, doesn’t it? And yet, for most musicians (especially...
Wednesday, May 9, 2018 | Reflections
Deuteronomy 11:18-21: Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when...
Tuesday, May 8, 2018 | Reflections
“Want a free sample? It has gold.” Like the ancient Athenians, New Yorkers are always looking for something new. On a recent spring day, a woman handed out samples for a new type of moisturizer with tiny bits of 24-karat gold. Of course I took one. ….(View this...
