Anabaptist and Quaker essays, sermons, and other writings
For much of the Christian Church, today is Pentecost Sunday. It commemorates the day when the Holy Spirit, previously breathed into the eleven disciples by the risen Christ1, fell upon ten dozen assembled believers2. Peter, standing among them, explained to astonished bystanders that this was the “outpouring of God’s spirit […]
How many of you have been on an airplane since 9/11? A lot of things have changed in airports since then. Not just going through metal detectors, but pat-downs, body scans, scans of our luggage and purses… whole arenas for security procedures have been set up in every airport, and […]
How many of you learned about the story of the “Good Samaritan” as a child in Sunday school? It’s a sweet story for kids in some ways if you don’t focus too much on the brutality. A man is traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. He’s attacked by robbers, who strip […]
How many of us still believe in “good guys and bad guys”? Are there such things? We live in a world where political commentators have been describing the difference between parties in starker terms than a lot of recent science fiction movies or even some video games have drawn the […]
This is the first Sunday of Lent 2021, but as Diana Butler Bass has named, in some ways, the entire last year has felt like a season of Lent. Lent is that liturgical season of forty days (not counting Sundays) prior to Easter, in which Christians have for centuries taken […]
Listen, and hear my voice; Pay attention, and hear my speech. – Isaiah 28:23 NRSV There is nothing more desirable than to hear from God directly. Then we can know that our thoughts and behaviors are being watched by our Creator and found either acceptable or in need of correction. […]
I am so thankful to be part of a congregation that asks things boldly, though aware that our privilege does not make us worthy of Jesus’ attention; and also a congregation that serves humbly, aware that as part of the body of Christ, our attention needs to go where Jesus’ […]
The third Sunday in Advent is Gaudete Sunday, or Rejoicing Sunday, and the lectionary scriptures all proclaim the joy of God’s work in the world. And yet, beloved church, I have to tell you, I was having a hard time accessing some joy to preach about. It’s been a very […]
But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. – Matthew 12:36 KJV Pan rhēma argon, reads the original Greek, which the New Revised Standard Version translates “every careless word.” Or we might say, “every empty, […]
When have you been able to put it on the calendar ahead of time that a certain day was supposed to change your life? For many of us, a wedding day might come to mind. That date is saved far in advance, with tremendous preparation ahead of time; making vows […]