A few years ago my first cousin once removed on my father’s mother’s side self-published a family history entitled “Yonder Will Be Better.” It’s the story of the Clark family moving around the United States beginning in the early 1800s, from Kentucky to Mississippi to Arkansas to Missouri to California to Utah and back to … read
It’s Transfiguration Sunday, although today’s sermon has nothing to do with that particular story. It’s a transitional day, marking the end of Epiphany and next week, the beginning of Lent. In terms of our preaching texts, it’s transitional too. Some of you might be thinking “hallelujah!” as it’s our last day in the Hebrew Scriptures, … read
All this week I have wondered why in the world the Book of Jonah is in the Bible. If you took it out, you really wouldn’t miss it, though Sunday School programs would need to find a new use for all their whale flannel graphs. We might say that Biblical scholars are a bit like … read
What does it mean to be God’s people? Our Southern kin, upon meeting someone new, will ask, “Who are your people?” My people are the Merrills of Gray’s Corner, Maine; my people are the Henslers of Einsiedeln, Switzerland. My people are the Presbyterians. My people are Gregg and Sarah. My people are you. If God … read
(Prayer for illumination, by Walter Brueggemann in Awed to Heaven, Rooted in Earth, Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000) “No wonder the prophet weeps yet – We begin again, but not innocent… As we begin, the powers of globalization surge; There are victims, but we are mostly beneficiaries. There are wars and rumors of wars, there are … read
On Friday morning, I was out walking the dog. It was not the most inspiring of days, rather gray and dull with no hint of joy in the forecast. But this particular morning the dog decided to turn right, which meant we got to walk by our neighbor’s poetry post. He had posted this little … read