Ponderings on a Faith Journey

Psalm 27

Whenever an angel or even God appears in the biblical story, the first words we hear are usually “Be not afraid.”  There’s a reason for this. Heavenly visitations don’t occur very often, so we need to hear words of  assurance that everything is going to be okay. The word we hear this morning is that the Lord is our light and salvation, so “whom shall I fear?”
The word of the Lord this morning might be “do not be afraid,” but if we’re honest with ourselves, we all experience fear once in awhile. It might be spiders or snakes, or heights, or something else. Whatever it is, what does fear to do us?  Does it paralyze us? Does it cause us to flee? Does it cause us to fight? I expect our answer depends on the person and the situation, but whatever the situation, fear usually brings a reaction of some kind. 
In The Charlie Brown Christmas, Charlie Brown is feeling depressed. He’s not sure why, but he knows something is wrong. So, he pays a visit to Lucy’s psychiatrist booth.  After he …

Before I went to bed last night I saw reports of a mass killing at mosques in Christ Church, New Zealand. I woke up to learn that at forty-nine were dead with others critically injured. Reports like this do not generally emerge from New Zealand, but here we are. It was Friday in New Zealand when the shootings took place, and the Muslim community was gathering for Friday prayers. The person who is taking responsibility for this, provided a manifesto, targeting immigrants and refugees. We must call this what it is, and that is a terrorist attack on peaceful people gathered for worship. 

Of course, I like most decent people, condemn the attacks on these two mosques. Unfortunately, these kinds of "events" have become all too common. Whether mosques or synagogues or churches or gurdwaras or temples, they have become targets of hate and violence. I'm preaching this Sunday from Psalm 27, which declares "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" A mom…

Unbelief isn't new. It's quite ancient in fact. Early Christians were charged with atheism because they refused to honor the traditional gods. Time passes and new forms emerge, but unbelief/atheism never seems to triumph. Nevertheless we should take note of and engage with those forms of unbelief that come our way. Martin Marty has some experience charting such things, having done so even before I was born.In this Sightings essay, he takes note of a book by philosopher John Gray who describes seven forms of atheism. You might find all of this interesting, whether you are a believer or an unbeliever.  Take a read!



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In our Bible Study session today we are looking at 1 Corinthians 7, a portion of Paul's Corinthian letter that covers a variety of issues concerning human relationships, including marriage, divorce, singleness, and celibacy, to name a few. The chapter begins with Paul answering the question of whether it is good for a man to touch a woman, that is, have sexual relations with a woman. I believe this was a question posed to Paul. He seeks to answer that question and others in an intriguing way. Although Paul is often seen as having misogynistic views, in this chapter he almost bends over backwards to suggest that men and women, at least in the marriage relationship, are equals. Below is an excerpt from chapter 7 of my book Marriage in Interesting Times: A Participatory Study Guide, (Energion Publications, 2016). In this portion of the chapter, I point to this call for equality in the face of traditional hierarchical claims. I invite you to read this portion, and of course, pick up a…

Genesis 15:1-18 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 15 After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” 2 But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is Eliezer of Damascus?” 3 And Abram said, “You have given me no offspring, and so a slave born in my house is to be my heir.” 4 But the word of the Lord came to him, “This man shall not be your heir; no one but your very own issue shall be your heir.” 5 He brought him outside and said, “Look toward heaven and count the stars, if you are able to count them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your descendants be.” 6 And he believed the Lord; and the Lord reckoned it to him as righteousness. 7 Then he said to him, “I am the Lord who brought you from Ur of the Chaldeans, to give you this land to possess.” 8 But he said, “O Lord God, how am I to know that I shall possess it?” 9 He said to him,…

CONNECTIONS: A Lectionary Commentary for Preaching and Worship. Year C, Volume 1: Advent through Epiphany.Edited by Joel B. Green, Thomas G. Long, Luke A. Powery, and Cynthia L. Rigby. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2018. Xiv + 332 pages.

First, I want to commend Westminster John Knox Press for continuing to produce excellent resources for those of us who are lectionary preachers. I regularly make use of the Feasting on the Wordlectionary commentaries. The same is true of their three-volume series Preaching God’s Transforming Justice. Now comes the Connectionsseries. The initial volume, which I am reviewing here, was recently named the Academy of Parish Clergy Reference Book of the Year. I will acknowledge that I chaired the APC committee that chose to honor this volume and the series it represents. If this first volume is any indication of what is to come, I can with confidence that if you’re a lectionary preacher, you should get a copy. It is available in both hard cover a…