Tag Archives: death

Do not invite death

We are not made in anyone’s image but God’s. We are not made for the corruption of death but for the covenant of life. Jesus does not love death or bloodshed – but Jesus loves us. Knowing this, how can we not consider turning from death to life; to pour out healing without counting the cost; to withhold death and restore relationship wherever it is possible; to deny the devil’s envy and replace it with love? Continue reading

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Book Review: Dessert First – Preparing for Death while Savoring Life, by J. Dana Trent

So why does a book about death and grieving have such an odd title? Death is coming for each of us, so we might as well embrace our mortal life and enjoy it, grief and all, with all of its sweetness, tartness, and saltiness. Continue reading

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Fridays are for mortality

The choice of incarnation, an island carved out of immortality, implies that God is not immune to hard weeks. Continue reading

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Resurrection and reality

If you think that the world is so bewildering that nothing makes sense, Jesus has come so patiently to point out his hands, his feet, his broken body, his own spear-pierced heart, to tell us that he is with us, that he has redeemed all of it. Continue reading

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The prayer of Lazarus

The prayer of Lazarus, silent by necessity. Continue reading

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Year B Lent 3: Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us; therefore let us keep the feast

There’s something unusual about the way that John’s gospel tells the story of the cleansing of the temple. Each of the four gospels tells some version of this event, and they are, for biblical accounts, surprisingly close in detail to … Continue reading

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Loose ends

When someone dies, there are plenty of loose ends. Some are hanging by a thread, easily pulled away, dealt with and discarded. Some we fear that if we pull the whole thing will unravel, so we leave them well alone. … Continue reading

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Holy Saturday and the Harrowing of Hell

This is what I wrote for my Good Friday reflection in the collection put together by the Rev. Gayle Catinella on behalf of several members of clergy in the Diocese of Ohio:  O death, I will be thy plagues; O … Continue reading

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Things that I struggle with

Things that I struggle with, in no particular order: Unscrewing the lid from a new jar of pickles. Unravelling tangled yarn chewed by the cat. Understanding the holy mystery of the empty tomb. Untying the umbilical cords that bind us … Continue reading

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Collect for the anniversary of a death

Almighty God, whose memory is longer than time; we remember especially today your daughter N. Grant us patience, peace, healing and hope as remember good times and bad; so that even our grief may become an instrument of your grace. … Continue reading

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