Category: Theological reflection
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Being there
“I probably shouldn’t be grinning on Good Friday,” I said to the Dean after today’s Good Friday service. But one of the features of bipolar illness is that sometimes you just aren’t in charge of your emotions. On a day like today, when I’m teetering on the edge of hypomania,…
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The ordinariness of God
I work in a church—literally, in the church, not in the offices attached to it. My work is mostly preparing for worship services. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, which involved a fair amount of preparation. But that’s not what I want to write about. Because the church where I work combines…
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The Spirit of Detroit and Christian Hope
The Detroit city motto has become better known in recent years, thanks to the proliferation of books—about the city’s history, and, yes, about the ruins, by authors who live in the Metro Area and love the city—and of merchandise such as bookbags, t-shirts, postcards, and other items you might find…
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Christmas and Martyrdom: St. Stephen’s Day
Happy second day of Christmas! And happy St. Stephen’s Day. St. Stephen was the first Christian martyr. He was also a deacon, one of seven chosen and ordained by the twelve Apostles to serve those in need. He also preached and “worked wonders,” which made him some very powerful enemies.…
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A brief Advent reflection
Advent’s just begun. Ordinary Time closed with a celebration of Christ the King; now we’re waiting for that King to be born…while at the same time, looking for him to “come again in glory.” Even while Christmas preparations must be done, we hold those celebrations at bay during this strange…
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Christ the King
In 1925, Pope Pius XI introduced the feast of Christ the King, which was meant as a reminder, amid the encroachments of secularization, that Christ is our Sovereign, reigning over all peoples in all places and all times—indeed, over all creation. Such a small vision, really. True, it’s a step…
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Meeting Jesus on the Street (Costs More than Taking the Bus)
Tonight, I walked home from the train station—just under a mile, in the dark—to save $2.10 on bus fare. I’m counting pennies, sorta. I’m admittedly rather lousy with money, and, according to my math, my earnings over the next year won’t…quite…cover my expenses, which are pared down as much as…
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Wrestling with angels
This past Sunday (October 20), many of us who use the Revised Common Lectionary heard the wonderful story of Jacob wrestling with the “angel”: The same night he got up and took his two wives, his two maids, and his eleven children, and crossed the ford of the Jabbok. He…
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Othering, Eight Mile, and Original Sin
Earlier this week, a Detroit pastor was shot dead while asking his partying neighbors to keep the noise level down. I read the online article from WDIV, channel 4. I know better, but as with any bad habit, I did it anyway: I read the comments. They rivaled the story…
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The “Good Samaritan”
Once again I’m blogging on a lectionary passage at the end of the day, just as it’s fading from view to be replaced by next Sunday’s texts — at least for sermon-writers. But the rest of us churchgoers can spend a bit more time with today’s Gospel. So here goes.…
The Sound 