Tag: Violence
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Living With A Tender Heart – Holding The Tension
How then does a tender heart live in the world these days? That’s a question I asked in a post about a month ago. It’s a question I continue to carry and live with. Maybe you also are carrying and living with that question. To ask the question is to stand in and hold the… Read more
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Maybe The Cross Is What It Is – A Good Friday Reflection
I don’t know how to explain the cross and the crucifixion of Jesus. It makes no sense to me. I understand the theories of atonement, but not the cross or why “Jesus had to die.” Though I understand the many explanations, I find them less and less convincing or helpful. Maybe there is nothing to… Read more
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Too Tender For This World
Do you sometimes feel like your heart is just too tender for this world? A few weeks ago I received a text message from someone saying that’s how he felt. I didn’t have to ask what he meant. I know that tenderness. I feel it and experience it almost daily. Tender Places Another war, this… Read more
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A Better Direction
Greg Bovino, the Border Patrol Commander-at-Large, is no longer the “commander,” is leaving Minneapolis, and is returning to his previous duty station in California. (Source) A number of CBP agents in Minneapolis are also leaving. (Source) The chief federal judge in Minneapolis has ordered the head of ICE to appear and explain why he should… Read more
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Another Morning After
After a federal agent murdered Renee Good I wrote about normalcy as resistance and making a pledge to normalcy. This morning, the morning after federal agents murdered Alex Pretti, I wrote this to myself: Lord,… Lord,… The silence shatters my words. I have no words. I can only remember and say their names. For Renee,… Read more
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Now It Is Up To Us – A Good Friday Sermon On John 18:1-19:42
“‘It is finished.’ Then Jesus bowed his head and gave up his spirit.” “It is finished.” Those are not the words of a winner who accomplished his task. They are the words of a witness who, God help him, testified to the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth: – The truth about… Read more
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Spoiler Alert: Christmas Happens In The Real World – A Sermon On Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23
I think today’s gospel (Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23) should have come with a spoiler alert. So here it is. Are you ready? Spoiler Alert: Christmas happens in the real world; not in the candlelight of a silent night, and not away in a manger. Here’s why I say that: Today’s gospel spoils whatever sentimental or romantic… Read more
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Living Power Differently – A Sermon On John 18:33-37, Christ The King
Today is the Feast of Christ the King. Throughout history kings and kingdoms have at some level been associated with power. So today seems like a good day to reflect on power in our lives and world. Last week a woman came to my office seeking assistance. With tears in her eyes she said, “It’s… Read more
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For The Love Of God, Lewiston, Israel, And Palestine – A Sermon On Matthew 22:34-46
Lewiston, Maine. I had never heard of Lewiston until last Wednesday night. Most of our country probably had never heard of Uvalde until that Tuesday in May last year. Lewiston now joins Uvalde, San Ysidro, El Paso, Killeen, Sutherland Springs, Sandy Hook, Virginia Tech, the Pulse Nightclub, and Las Vegas as one of the top… Read more