ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 25, 2022A single line from a prayer written by St. Teresa of Avila (1515 – 1582): Whoever has God lacks nothing With those words in mind, quiet yourself for prayer… I seek your presence in my life, O God of the Universe. I request your Spirit to dwell deep within the recesses of my mind where imagination can too easily guide my attention down the path
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 24, 2022What do you do with anger? Lots of people have an opinion on the subject, and they are quick to offer their insights. There are occasional suggestions that are helpful, but I find most people’s thoughts to be pithy and dismissive. Often, it is just a tactic to appear sympathetic when the person making the unhelpful suggestion simply does not want to hear your complaints
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 23, 2022There are moments when I look at Christianity, and I find myself scratching my head. So much of what is put forth and given to the world as Christianity strangely resembles everything Jesus seemed to oppose. In fact, I am coming to believe that many prominent presentations of Christianity today have emerged from a bunch of very insecure men who have made an idol out
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 22, 2022Henry Ward Beecher was a minister and abolitionist. His powerful words on the far-reaching character of God’s love still influence people today. He wrote, “I can forgive, but I cannot forget, is only another way of saying, I will not forgive. Forgiveness ought to be like a cancelled note – torn in two, and burned up, so that it never can be shown against one.”
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 21, 2022The Nigerian Ethicist, Omolara Ogundipe-Leslie, wrote: “There can be no liberation of African society without the liberation of African women.” In the Civil Rights Movement here in the United States, Fannie Lou Hamer noted that “nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” There are others who have said similar things, and it makes me think about Jesus. He did not start with the powerful, those who found
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 20, 2022I knew a guy years ago who had what he called “off the farm” responses to almost everything. They were creative, and on occasion, a bit colorful. One I remember in particular was the witticism, “It feels like I fell asleep in wet concrete.” It was his way of describing that feeling of being stuck. Sometimes in life it feels as if we unknowingly fell
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 19, 2022In Genesis 28, we find the story of Jacob’s Ladder, a dream Jacob had of a ladder stretching into the heavens. You may have learned a song in Sunday School years ago about climbing Jacob’s Ladder. Well, according to some ancient Jewish teachings, Jacob’s ladder is a symbol of human life. We live firmly rooted on the earth, but we strive and stretch to know
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 18, 2022Prayer for the Week: Wherever I am, there you are. Wherever I’ve been, you remain. Wherever I am going, you will welcome me there. You are the One, Holy God, who is not confined by time or space, yet you’ve chosen to meet me as I move through time and space. Thank you. Amen.
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 17, 2022Today in worship, we look at another aspect of prayer. Last Sunday, I went very basic: the “reward” (Matthew 6:6) or desired takeaway from prayer is ultimately God. Too often, there is a tendency to expect too much of prayer. There might be some who will be upset with that comment, but I find people praying for all kinds of things that may not necessarily
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSJuly 16, 2022Today I am with the JYF (Junior Youth Fellowship), 3rd–5th graders) on their short Mission Trip to Texas City. We started the JYF Mission Trip a few years before the Pandemic as a way of allowing the younger kids to get a taste of a mission experience before they went on a longer trip with Chi Rho (Middle School Youth). If you never went on