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Not Force, But Faith
Photo by Valiant Made on Unsplash Rejecting the will to power requires a better vision for our world. Our common life and the problem of powerProper 29C | Luke 23:33-43 drewdowns · Not Force, But...
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Treated the same, only different
Photo by Patrick Weissenberger on Unsplash To have equality, we must first acknowledge difference. Most of us have the desire to be treated the same as others. At least when they are doing well. We...
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The Right Thing
Photo by Alex Radelich on Unsplash We are always obsessed with figuring out what the right thing to do is in any given situation. When a person is killed by police, that right thing becomes even more...
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Between – the Transfiguration and the Temptation
A look at the gaps in the lectionary. This week: the gap between the Last Sunday after Epiphany A and Lent 1A. The text: back from Matthew 17 to 4. As we saw last time, what the disciples experience...
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Listening
Photo by Wojciech Celiński on Unsplash and keep listeningEpiphany Last A | Matthew 17:1-9 drewdowns · Listening (Epiphany Last A) Six days later. Nothing says “middle of a story” like starting with...
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Is He Tempted? (a reflection)
Photo by Kevin Brunet on Unsplash (cropped) For SundayLent 1A Collect Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan: Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many...
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The Temptation (Lent 1A)
Photo by GR Stocks on Unsplash The Temptation of Jesus in the wilderness is about power. There is no getting around it. And avoiding that idea is unconscionable. Of course, there are a few different...
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God had him trade water for sand
Photo by Juli Kosolapova on Unsplash A Poem of TemptationLent 1A | Matthew 4:1-11 drewdowns · God had him trade water for sand (Lent 1A) God had him trade water for sand.He walked up to John. That...
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A Cause for Celebrating
Photo by Andrew Neel on Unsplash For SundayLent 4A Collect Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world: Evermore give us...
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It isn’t just that Pearl Jam was right
Photo by Hannah Rodrigo on Unsplash In 1994, Pearl Jam took on Ticketmaster. Now, after watching the fallout from Ticketmaster’s handling of Taylor Swift’s 2023 tour, it has become clear. Pearl Jam...
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I don’t want to see crosses in nature
Photo by Thanti Riess on Unsplash Driving the interstate, the ubiquity of crosses commemorating lost loved ones by the side of the road make them nearly invisible. Quite the opposite with those big,...
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Always the Innocents
Photo by Mohammed Ibrahim on Unsplash On the fourth day of Christmas, we remember the consequence of the incarnation. When we gather to sing praise that the Christ child is born, the usurper king on...
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The great tension at the heart of Lent
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash Control. One of the hardest things about the last few years is dealing with wildly changing expectations. Especially with leadership. Running a meeting was hard enough....
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The real temptation
Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash This Week: Lent 2BGospel: Mark 8:31-38 It is unfortunate that the congregation doesn’t get to hear the first part of this week’s gospel story. There Jesus asks...
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The problem with footwashing
Photo by Er Sever on Unsplash When images stop workingMaundy Thursday | John 13:1-17 Jesus washes the feet of his disciples. And if you saw the Super Bowl ad, this may be the very thing running...
View ArticleMaking him king—for Proper 12B
For SundayProper 12B Collect O God, the protector of all who trust in you, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy: Increase and multiply upon us your mercy; that, with you as our ruler and...
View ArticleFailure, control, and empowering kids in the church
This Week: Proper 20BGospel: Mark 9:30-37 The second Passion Prediction in Mark gives us three surpsingly significant themes to focus on. The failure of the disciples, The role of power, and The place...
View ArticleBetween Proper 23 + 24 (Year B)
A look at the gaps in the lectionary. This week: the gap between Proper 23B + 24BThe text: Mark 10:32-34 This week, our lectionary skips over a small bit of text that the astute reader needs, but as is...
View ArticleWe should not justify injustice—for Proper 24B
For Sunday Easter 6B Collect Almighty and everlasting God, in Christ you have revealed your glory among the nations: Preserve the works of your mercy, that your Church throughout the world may...
View ArticleBetween Proper 28 + 29 (Year B)
A look at the gaps in the lectionary. This week: the gap between Proper 28B + 29BThe text: John 18:1-32 We jump in the lectionary from the Little Apocalypse in Mark to the conversation with Pilate in...
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