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February 2022

February 14, 2022

On Valentine’s Day, in Praise of Beautiful Souls

What makes a human being beautiful? What is it that we love when we love...

February 13, 2022

Being God in the World

Today's gospel reading is Luke's abbreviated version of the Beatitudes. It is a scene so...

January 2022

January 27, 2022

Raised on Original Sin

It hardly seems possible that I am now in the tenth calendar year of writing...

January 24, 2022

Why Jesus was Obsessed with Outsiders

The first text in the new “Faith and Doubt” colloquium that I am team-teaching this...

January 11, 2022

Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, and the Power of Forgiveness

I, as well as the rest of the world, was saddened to hear of the...

December 2021

December 26, 2021

Jesus Goes to the Temple, and then gets grounded

Each week for many years, Garrison Keillor told “Prairie Home Companion” listeners the news from...

December 23, 2021

Merry Christmas: Christus Natus Est

Christmas movies are a big deal at my house. Jeanne goes for the classics, such...

November 2021

November 30, 2021

Advent and the Gift of Being Human

In Philosophical Fragments, 19th-century Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard tells a lovely story about a powerful king...

October 2021

October 28, 2021

An Immigrant, a Prostitute, and God’s Plan

One of my favorite features of liturgical worship is encountering familiar and favorite texts during...

October 16, 2021

It’s My Brother’s Birthday!

My big brother, whom I unfortunately seldom see in the flesh, is celebrating his birthday...

October 07, 2021

A Faith Filled with Hard Sayings and Inconvenient Truths

Dear Dr. Morgan: I’m writing to let you know that I won’t be in class...

August 2021

August 24, 2021

Remembering Winnie: What Our Pets Teach Us About What’s Important

Our dachshund Winnie died a week ago. She spent a bit over twelve years with...

June 2021

June 19, 2021

A Father’s Day Reflection: What My Dad Taught Me about Reading and Belief

One of the most important things an author has to write when a book is...

June 12, 2021

God Said It, I Believe It, That Settles It? Not so much.

One of the books I gave Jeanne for her birthday this past week is As a...

June 09, 2021

How Did Covid-19 Affect Your Most Significant Relationship? A Birthday Reflection for Jeanne

Over the past year, I have read and heard reports of marriages either on the...

May 2021

May 25, 2021

Do You Believe In the Human Heart?

The central theme of my ethics class this past semester was human dignity. Through short...

May 09, 2021

A Mothers Day Reflection: Her Children Rise Up and Call Her Blessed

I once learned something interesting about giraffes from one of my colleagues. He was lecturing...

May 02, 2021

Perfect Love Casts Out Fear–or so we’re told

After the mass shooting in a Colorado grocery store a few weeks ago, a woman...

April 2021

April 27, 2021

So You Want to Be a Good Person?

A Polish Franciscan priest. A Lutheran pastor and theologian. A French, Jewish social activist attracted...

April 20, 2021

What Kind of Person Do You Want to Be?

I’ve been reminded recently, in a number of random ways, of just how quickly time...

April 10, 2021

Faith and Doubt Go Hand in Hand

The opposite of faith is not doubt, but certainty   Anne Lamott I am currently in...

April 03, 2021

An Easter Warning: Jesus Isn’t Walking Through That Door

God is not an insurance agent. H. G. Wells During Rick Pitino’s tenure as the...

March 2021

March 27, 2021

A Palm Sunday Reflection on Power and Love

Today is Palm Sunday, one of the most dramatic days on the liturgical calendar. But...

March 14, 2021

Returning to the Basics

Today's lectionary texts take us back to the basics. Sports fans old enough to remember...

February 2021

February 14, 2021

Valentine’s Day and Lent Belong Together

Three years ago, for the first time since 1945, Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day fell...

January 2021

January 31, 2021

God Is Not Information

When we first moved to Rhode Island in the middle 1990s for my new teaching...

January 26, 2021

Liberal Christianity on the Rise

Last Saturday, the New York Times published a fascinating article by Elizabeth Dias called “In...

January 21, 2021

The Best of 2020 #3: Why are Christians So Angry and Fearful?

Coming in at #3 in my "Best of 2020" blog post lineup is "Why are...

January 10, 2021

When Selective Amnesia is a Good Thing

Tolerance, acceptance, and embracing difference--even in the face of established tradition and clear procedures--has been...

December 2020

December 23, 2020

Grace and Peace Be with You

Grace means suddenly you’re in a different universe from the one where you were stuck,...

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