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Tag Archives: gun violence
Bruising God
Just before setting the bow in the sky as a sign of the covenant of mercy between God and all flesh, God tells Noah that since humanity was made in God’s image, God will require a reckoning for our lifeblood. God considers violence against any one of us violence against God’s own self. Continue reading
Posted in current events, gun violence, sermon, story
Tagged #Parkland, 1 Peter 3:18-22, AR-15, domestic violence, Genesis 9:8-17, gun violence, Lent, Mark 1:9-15, Noah's Ark, repentance
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Do not give your heart to the ashes
The landscape within which we live is littered with sin, from the scars we inflict upon the earth on up through the twisted veins of hearts that would burn down a church built in the image of God’s mercy. And it is impossible to stand here in an attitude of repentance tonight without acknowledging the complicity of our common life in the deaths of 17 students, children, at a high school in Florida this afternoon. Our participation in systems of sin, as its priests and as its victims, is as inevitable as the ice of winter. Continue reading
Posted in holy days, poetry, sermon, story
Tagged Frank X. Walker, gun violence, mercy, R.S. Thomas, repentance, school shootings, wildfires
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A louder peace
“As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you.” (Matthew 10:12-13) This is Jesus, instructing his apostles, sending them … Continue reading
Martha & Mary
There is so much to be done: the sweeping of the streets, the hanging of bags full of plasma, saline, the careful placement of Kleenex. There are so many distractions: tanks and trucks, bullets and bombs, the cleaning of windows … Continue reading
Posted in current events, lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged gun violence, Luke 10:38-42, Nice, terrorism, Turkey, Year C Proper 11
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Reasons to #WearOrange: Devaluation
A confession: when we are discussing the pros and cons of an apartment to rent, our family has come to use a rather disrespectful shorthand for one particular criterion. How “killy” the street or block has become the self-defining descriptor of … Continue reading
Posted in gun violence
Tagged "a bit killy", #WearOrange, grief, gun violence, parenthood
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Suffer the children
It was Mother’s Day weekend, a weekend of mixed emotions, to say the least. I am among the fortunate. I spent the day surrounded by family, celebrating our eldest child’s college graduation in the Columbus sunshine. On Saturday, her younger sister … Continue reading
Posted in story
Tagged #WearOrange, God Before Guns, gun violence, Moms Demand Action, Mother's Day
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Year C Lent 3: self-examination and repentance
Lest ye repent, says Jesus, you will all perish as they did. It was the first soundbite of Jesus’ campaign trail, his initial mission statement: Repent, for the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Our exhortation … Continue reading
Year B Proper 23: of camels, elephants, and us
The only way through the eye of the needle is conversion into something that will fit, something fit for the kingdom of God. Continue reading
Posted in sermon
Tagged elephant in the room, gun violence, Jesus, money, politics, racism, rich young ruler
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Year B Proper 17: commandments vs amendments
It all starts out so well: “This will show your wisdom and discernment to the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and discerning people!’” pronounces Moses, so full of … Continue reading
A vain and foolish thing
Vain and foolish, one would not think that with no animal spirit, nor soul, no mind of its own, but an idle thing could inspire such passion, such pain, such tearing, such rending of hearts, of lives apart; only with … Continue reading
Posted in lectionary reflection, poetry, prayer, sermon preparation
Tagged Deuteronomy 4, gun control, gun violence, Mark. 7, WBDJ, Year B Proper 17
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