I read an incredible story in the Washington Post. A man is trying to get his son’s death sentence commuted to life. What was the son’s crime? He conspired with two other men to kill his parents and his brother! The mother and brother were killed and the father barely survived. The father forgave his …
Three Men in the Temple
The great danger of meditation and other techniques for the inner life: it often ends up as dialogue with oneself. In Jesus' parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, the Pharisee entered the Temple of God and did nothing more than dialogue with himself. The Greek text says, πρὸς ἑαυτὸν ταῦτα προσηύχετο: the most direct …
The Difference is in the Joy!
What is the difference between Zacchaeus and the rich ruler who turned away from Jesus? The rich man came with an agenda. Zacchaeus had no agenda except to see Jesus. And that, dear friends, is often the thing that makes all the difference. Do you know what’s wrong with people who think they’re saved? …
The church knows only one totality
In a previous post I outlined some thoughts Karl Barth offered at a gathering in 1962 and which constitute one chapter of the book, Barth in Conversation. He was asked to say something about the church in a totalitarian state, such as existed in 1962 in East Germany and other countries behind the Iron Curtain. …
Unfinished Business with the Devil
What did Jesus do after his baptism? Why was he baptized to begin with? Perhaps we will find the answer by looking at what happened after his baptism. Today’s Gospel reading coming on the Sunday after Epiphany might give you the impression that right after his baptism he began preaching, “Repent for the kingdom …
The Fellowship of Baptism
"I saw the spirit descend and remaining upon him" - so speaks John the baptizer to his circle of followers about his baptism of Jesus. It is from this circle of John’s followers that Jesus drew his first disciples. In our reading from the Book of Acts this morning, we hear of an encounter between the …
Our Totalitarian Lives
I stand in awe of Karl Barth (1886-1968), generally acknowledged as the greatest theologian of the 20th century and one of the greatest of all time. My awe is not simply at his theological depth and understanding of Scripture; I'm awed at the sheer quantity of what he wrote and published. His greatest contribution to …
The Real War on Christmas
There is a Buddhist saying, “If you meet Buddha, kill him.” Weird? Clearly, the saying is meant to warn against idols, against illusions, against deceptions. We are easily deceived, easily fall into our own wishful thinking and illusions, and easily can turn everything and everyone into an idol. Every year, we kill the Christ …
A Vulnerable God
Christmas is the celebration of God’s vulnerability. It was the birth of a vulnerable baby that constituted God’s great plan for the redemption of human beings. So don’t turn God into a macho god, a warrior god, an imperial god! Immanuel = "God with us" in Hebrew. Jesus is a wonderful name, it has …
An Ill-Mannered Jesus
More than 200 newspapers carry the advice column of Judith Martin, better known as Miss Manners. I was curious to see if Miss Manners could help Jesus with some dinner etiquette, so I did aa quick Google search. In August of this year, someone asked Miss Manners for advice: DEAR MISS MANNERS: I find …
Ancient Answers 