I’m not ready for my brothers to die. I have two brothers, Kevin and Daniel. As I was preparing this sermon, I just thought about if either of them became gravely ill. What I could have done, should I have called them more. I don’t really think I’m ready for any of my loved ones … read
What keeps you going and having faith? That is the question I’ve always had about those Magi, astrologer/magician types from the East—probably East as in Persia and not “the Orient,” a somewhat problematic term for Asians, but I digress. No matter, the East was still VERY FAR from where they came from! It would have … read
This was the existential question that haunted my middle-school days. Every morning, as I stepped onto the bus, I braced myself: Who was going to punch me in the arm for no reason? What will I do if a group of boys circle me and grab my backpack and start tossing it around so I … read
During the season of Lent, the pastors are doing a series called “Words of Wonder”—different theological words in the Christian tradition that come with some baggage. Words like “salvation” or “atonement.” Sometimes it’s because they seem so abstract; what could they possibly say to us in a time of COVID and war in Ukraine? With … read
This is a sermon about love. There’s a danger here, of course. What else is there to say about love? There are countless songs, movies, and books on the topic. It’s easy for talk about love to get overly sentimental and cliché or overly clinical and removed from experience. I don’t know if what I’ll … read
A corrupt trial where a known violent criminal is let free. An innocent man from a colonized community killed by the state. The state and religion in a toxic power relationship. Mass fear causing the mob to lose sight of truth and be swept up by violence. This is where we find ourselves in the … read