Ponderings on a Faith Journey

Isaiah 7:10-17 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) 10 Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask a sign of the Lord your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, and I will not put the Lord to the test. 13 Then Isaiah said: “Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary mortals, that you weary my God also?   14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel. 15 He shall eat curds and honey by the time he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the child knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land before whose two kings you are in dread will be deserted. 17 The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on your ancestral house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria.” ******                 As a follower of Jesus, I am called to live by faith. Afte…

MOM, I’M GAY: Loving Your LBGTQ Child and Strengthening Your Faith. Revised Edition. By Susan Cottrell. Foreword by Justin Lee.  Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016. Xvii + 178 pages.
                It's been a few years since my brother came out as a gay man. That decision some fifteen years in the past opened my eyes to realities I had previously ignored. What was once an academic discussion, became personal. As a family, we embraced my brother. What I have learned over the years is that such revelations not only affect the person coming out, but the family as well. Not every family is equally equipped to deal with this reality. That's one reason why LGBTQ children often find it difficult to come out to family, especially parents. You don't want to risk being rejected by those closest to you. So how do we change the equation?

Isaiah 35:1-10


Advent is a season of expectation and anticipation. Signs of Christmas are all around us, but it hasn’t arrived. We’re still waiting to join together in celebrating the coming of the promised one, the one born in Bethlehem who will inaugurate the realm of God.  
On this third Sunday of Advent, we look forward with great anticipation to the coming of the day of everlasting joy. We recognize that this day hasn’t been revealed, but we find hope in the promise that a day will come when we “shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

A CHRISTMAS CAROL. By Charles Dickens. Brewster, MA: Paraclete Press, 2016. 125 pages.
                Charles Dickens was a famed nineteenth English author known for his portrayals of English social life, especially the darker and seedier sides. One of his best known and I would most beloved stories A Christmas Carol, first published in 1843. In this story, Dickens tells of the reclamation of Ebenezer Scrooge, a miser who visited misery on himself and on his neighbors. The central character in the story, Ebenezer Scrooge, became the byword for selfishness and greed. Even if you’ve never read the story, simply hearing the name Scrooge will set you back.
                Every Christmas season my family and I will watch several versions of the Christmas Carol. I first encountered this story as a child with the Mr. Magoo version. Then, I discovered the Alister Sims version, in all its black and white glory. Over the years, I’ve discovered several other versions, including those with Pat…

I spend a great deal of time reading. I enjoy reading deep theological works. My bookshelves feature Bonhoeffer, Barth, Tillich, Moltmann, Elizaabeth Johnson, just to name a few. They all offer profound wisdom, that have influenced my life and worldview.  
Perhaps its just a moment in life when what I need to hear is a word of simple wisdom,  Sometimes we make life more complicated than it needs to be. We lose sight of what's really important in life. We let things that are big and complicated but outside our immediate control to have power over us. We lose sight of those relationships that bring empowerment.

Yesterday I received a Facebook friend request. It was from a childhood friend with whom I've probably not spoken since high school, and believe me that was some time ago. But in many ways it's been longer since we really were connected, What I most remember of Julie comes from elementary school.  Julie lived on the same street. We went to the same school (Theodore Ro…

As a somewhat left of center Protestant, I've been accused on occasion of heretical views. I was even fired from teaching post for being too liberal for the school. I'm not averse to occasionally suggesting that certain theological perspectives, while not heretical, are bad theology. As a Protestant, who has come to admire the current holder of Peter's episcopal seat, I find interesting that some of his own flock find the Pope to be heretical. Martin Marty takes note of some of this discussion, helping us make sense of such words as infallibility, dogma, and doctrine. I invite you to read and consider Marty's incisive commentary. Offer up some of your own.

Infallibility and Heresy
By MARTIN E. MARTY   December 5, 2016Not since certain American Protestants were publicly anti-Catholic, as older readers may remember them having been, have we read as many headlines with words like “infallibility,” “heresy,” papal “plots,” “schism,” etc., as we do these days. My late colle…

It was 75 years ago today that a force of Japanese naval bombers hit Pearl Harbor, drawing the United States into World War II. Thousands died that day, and many thousands more in the years to come. Franklin Roosevelt called it a "Day that shall live in Infamy." Unfortunately it was not and will not be the only day of infamy to strike our world. War is something that has as yet not been overcome. We have yet to turn our swords into plowshares. 


I have been to Pearl Harbor twice, both times we visited the Arizona Memorial. The second time around, we also visited the U.S.S. Missouri, the battleship upon which the Japanese surrender was signed. In the picture above you  can see the Arizona Memorial from the deck of the Missouri. To the right you will find the names of those who died that day, those entombed in the waters below the memorial.  Below is what remains of one of the stacks. 


During my ministry in Lompoc, I had a parisioner who was a survivor of the Arizona. I heard …

Isaiah 35:1-10  New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
35 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad,
    the desert shall rejoice and blossom;
like the crocus 2 it shall blossom abundantly,
    and rejoice with joy and singing.
The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it,
    the majesty of Carmel and Sharon.
They shall see the glory of the Lord,
    the majesty of our God.
3 Strengthen the weak hands,
    and make firm the feeble knees.
4 Say to those who are of a fearful heart,
    “Be strong, do not fear!
Here is your God.
    He will come with vengeance,
with terrible recompense.
    He will come and save you.”
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened,
    and the ears of the deaf unstopped;
6 then the lame shall leap like a deer,
    and the tongue of the speechless sing for joy.
For waters shall break forth in the wilderness,
    and streams in the desert;
7 the burning sand shall become a pool,
    and the thirsty ground springs of water;
the haunt of jackals shall become a swamp,
…

MOMENTS WITH MARTIN LUTHER: 95 Daily Devotions. By Donald K. McKim. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2016. Xvi + 105 pages.
                On October 31, 2017, we will observe the 500th anniversary of the launch of the Protestant Reformation. That is, if we assume as is traditionally done, that the Reformation began when a German Augustinian monk and professor of Bible nailed his “Ninety-Five Theses” on the door of Wittenberg Castle. In the statements posted to the castle door on October 31, 1517, Luther laid his grievances regarding the doctrine and conduct of the Western Church, the church we now call the Roman Catholic Church. Numerous other reformers would emerge in the coming years, but Luther boldly set out a new path for Christians, aided to a great degree by the German princes who embraced his vision (or at least hoped to make use of his effort to gain control of church lands). Whatever your view of Luther, he left a significant legacy to all who followed.

Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

1 Give the king your justice, O God,
    and your righteousness to a king’s son.
2 May he judge your people with righteousness,
    and your poor with justice.
3 May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
    and the hills, in righteousness.
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
    give deliverance to the needy,
    and crush the oppressor. 5 May he live while the sun endures,
    and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.
6 May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
    like showers that water the earth.
7 In his days may righteousness flourish
    and peace abound, until the moon is no more. 18 Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    who alone does wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his glorious name forever;
    may his glory fill the whole earth.
Amen and Amen.



I am not preaching today. The choir is sharing the message in music (I'm narrating the cantata). Since I…

This week's Thursday edition of Sightings hits close to home. The essay focuses on a recent decision by the Council of Christian Colleges and Universities to require of members that they officially affirm a "traditional" understanding of marriage as between a man and a woman. Such a requirement is new to the Council. Why it hits close to home is that the college I graduated from and even served as adjunct faculty many years ago was an original member of the CCCU, and continues its membership. I don't know where the college stands on the issue at this point, nor do I know what kinds of conversations are underway. I do know that many alumni would disagree with the CCCU policy, and I expect that a number of current faculty would oppose it as well. That college, Northwest Christian University, is broadly affiliated with the churches of the Stone-Campbell Movement, including the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), a denomination that has in its General manifestation a…