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The way of revolution
The Second Sunday of Advent was about John the Baptist (as will be the Third Sunday) and I had jotted some notes down about the way of repentance. The way of John the Baptist comes at a critical time in the life of Israel. Rome has been in power and now they’ve encroached on the land with a heavy hand.…
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Top Ten Books of My Reading Year
Some quick notes from ten books I enjoyed or were impacted by in 2024. This doesn’t have any particular order.
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Bonhoeffer, nationalism, and the Kingdom of God
Some thoughts from my reading of Strange Glory: A Life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer by Charles Marsh. There had been some Americans who had tried to get Bonhoeffer out of Germany before it was too late for him personally. They arranged for him to come to New York again and teach at Union Seminary.
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Jesus is coming back… are we SURE we want that?
Advent is about hope. True. It is about holding on in the darkness. True. There is the focus on Jesus coming again, and that has a lot of sentimentality for us in the West. We feel relieved because of all our perceived slights over the years. (The government is coming to get us, silence us, make us quit saying “Merry…
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Quick thoughts for the weekend
Random thoughts that entered my mind this week: We honor the prophets… after we have killed them. I want to stop saying why something “won’t work” and start saying, “LET’S TRY.”
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Life in the dark — Advent
Advent is to remind us we don’t “live Easter” or “live Resurrection” all the time. We live in resurrection power, yes. But we have darkness to deal with in our lives. Being in the northern hemisphere in Advent is perfect. We need to reflect on the darkness.
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Bonhoeffer, the Barmen Declaration, and resistance
The Confessing Church in Germany saw the dangers of Nazism encroaching and in 1934, leaders met in the city of Barmen-Wuppertal to put together a declaration that would magnify their Christian convictions and point out areas of dissent.
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Christ IS coming again
It is Advent. Over the last few years when I have learned more about Advent, and then joined the Anglican Church, I have a deep love for this season of the Church Year. It takes some practice to get used to Advent. Once you do, though, you will never want it any other way. — Fleming Rutledge
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Advent Approaches
This is what I love about the liturgical calendar: It won’t match up to the American civil religion calendar. The first Sunday of Advent is the new year in the Church.
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Thanksgiving
Every year I can’t help but reflect on these words from Abraham Lincoln: By the President of the United StatesA Proclamation
