“What we temptingly long for is too often a collection of selective memories of a stubborn nostalgia that has a tendency to gloss over the better things of life in the present moment. The best memories for one person can be the worst ones of another.”
“Deacons tend to follow their noses rather than roll things around in their heads. Even if a congregation doesn’t have an ordained deacon, it’s a safe bet even the smallest congregations have at least one person who is out there following his or her nose, putting the church out into the world.”
“Both our Old Testament reading and our Gospel today illustrate that, yes, one thing…leads to another, and without the practice of self-examination and repentance, we are liable to find ourselves further and further away from truth and love–especially as it relates to those times when we are in positions of leadership.”
“In our Gospel reading today, Jesus asked the disciples to stay awake while he prayed in the garden at Gethsemane…and of course, we all know how that played out. They couldn’t manage it…and when they woke up, it was too late. They had missed their opportunity to be with Jesus, unbothered, one last time.”
“Making a public affirmation of our faith requires us knowing the story of our own faith journey and articulating it when needed or useful.”
“What’s important, though, is that Jesus is not running from this trouble, but instead is going ahead and doing what is asked of him. He’s doing the right thing, in spite of what grief is going to come down on his head, on account of it.”
“Macrena loved learning (from accounts, she was a person with a fairly extensive knowledge of the Bible), and she figured out pretty quickly that a wife’s life in those days didn’t leave much time for that. Instead, she announced her decision to consider herself eternally betrothed to Christ, and embarked on a life of prayer and study.”
“From their point of view, they saw Saul babbling to himself, falling to the ground, and arising blind. They were not expecting to have to care for a blind man on this trip, and there had to be more than a little fear on their part.”
“Although we tend to think of “calling” in terms of the call to ordained ministry or vowed religious life, in reality every baptized Christian is called to something, and that call is neither self-determined, nor solely a “Me ‘n’ God” thing. If a call is there, the collective spiritual wisdom in the community–and not only the Christian community–will see it–yet it is the role of the Christian community to interpret the data.”
“It’s only been in recent years that discussion of footprints (such as our carbon footprint) have entered the front end of conversations, whether they are about stewardship, mission/outreach, or creation care.”