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Select a Month May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018

March 2019

March 18, 2019

Pilgrimage, Lent, and Giving Up Words

I'm taking a break from writing this Lent, while I go on pilgrimage on the...

February 2019

February 03, 2019

The Topsy-Turvy Shalom of Christ: Absurd Discipleship in Ordinary Time

All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. Luke 4:21-30 This...

December 2018

December 01, 2018

Expectation: Open Hands in Advent

Welcome to Advent, which launches off every year with a good old fashioned End Times...

November 2018

November 24, 2018

Not Yet: Waiting for Advent in Ordinary Time

I want it to be Christmas so badly. I have never wanted it to be Christmas...

November 08, 2018

Showing Up or Showing Off: The Temptation to Flashiness in Ordinary Time

Jesus isn't messing around today. Beware! the lectionary text begins. The NIV translates this as watch out! Be careful!...

November 03, 2018

Why Tithing: Fearless Generosity in Ordinary Time

Tithing conjures up images of prosperity preachers hollering at little old ladies to send them...

October 2018

October 25, 2018

Fake Prayers, Fake Selves: The Honesty of Ordinary Time

“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked [Bartimaeus]. The blind man said,...

October 20, 2018

Wild God of Wild Things: Job and the Untamables in Ordinary Time

I got very into Job in high school. I was a kid who got "very...

October 13, 2018

The Power of Fables: The Good Place and Job for Ordinary Time

They told me to read the Bible literally. They said that there were no stories...

October 06, 2018

When I Kept Silent: An Excerpt from “Preaching as Resistance” for Ordinary Time

This week, Chalice Press published Preaching As Resistance: Voices of Hope, Justice, and Solidarity, an...

September 2018

September 29, 2018

When Esther Is Too Hopeful: Dr. Ford and the Weariness of Ordinary Time

So the king and Haman went in to feast with Queen Esther. On the second day,...

September 22, 2018

Betcha Can’t Eat Just One: Spiritual Junk Food of Ordinary Time

Who opens a container of Oreos and just eats three, the official "serving size" for a...

September 14, 2018

However You Come, It’s Good Enough: Nicodemus and the Feast of the Holy Cross

Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the...

September 08, 2018

It’s Nothing Personal: Systemic Sin in Ordinary Time

We're prone to take the healing stories of Jesus very personally. We see the Gospel...

September 01, 2018

Taste and See: Mysticism for Ordinary Time

This week, the lectionary invites us to be weird for a bit, and imagine that...

August 2018

August 25, 2018

Church Shouldn’t Hurt: Lessons from Yoga for Ordinary Time

It isn't supposed to hurt, my yoga teacher said. I disagreed. This is exercise, I...

August 18, 2018

Can Storytelling Save Us From the Worship Wars?

"You can always tell when they're gonna lift their hands," he snickered, looking around the...

August 10, 2018

Stop Tending My Wounds With Clichés: Lament and Enchantment in Ordinary Time

I'm tired of hearing pastors preach that "believing in Jesus" means I'll never be spiritually...

August 04, 2018

Why Confession: Shame and Repentance in Ordinary Time

Shame is sneaky. Shame creeps into the passenger seat of the car at a stop...

July 2018

July 27, 2018

The Enoughness of Showing Up: Loaves and Fishes in Ordinary Time

It feels reckless to tell everyone that they're "enough." Some people are terrible. Some people...

July 20, 2018

Jesus Does Improv: Holy Distraction in Ordinary Time

This week, Jesus gets distracted. What? Not Jesus! Jesus was a man with a plan! Jesus knew...

July 13, 2018

Beheadings at a Birthday (And Other Dark Tales from Ordinary Time)

Edgar Allen Poe meets John Bunyan in this terrible little fable that's snuck into our...

July 06, 2018

Pilgrim Joy in Ordinary Time

"Pilgrimage" always sounds like an exhausting affair. We imagine dour monks in brown robes, praying...

June 2018

June 28, 2018

Why Liturgy: How the Liturgical Calendar Can Save Our Lives

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end;...