Frederick Buechner once described “Prayer” in a way that leaps to my mind this week, in these days after our communal experience of the Eclipse.
Buechner wrote:
“We all pray whether we think of it as praying or not. The…
Read moreFrederick Buechner once described “Prayer” in a way that leaps to my mind this week, in these days after our communal experience of the Eclipse.
Buechner wrote:
“We all pray whether we think of it as praying or not. The…
Read moreThese days after a solar eclipse are probably a good time to remind ourselves of this extended quote from St. Augustine of Hippo.
(picture taken by me during “totality”)
St. Augustine was a wordy writer, so I’ve edited it down…
Read moreIncreasingly, I am convinced the opposite of “faith” is not “doubt,” but “fear.” This is because the deepest level of “faith” is not “belief,” but “trust;” and the opposite of “trust/faith” is “fear/anxiety.”
Instead of faith’s opposite, doubt is a…
Read moreThe greatest trick Constantine ever played on our world was to convince us that the Empire that killed Jesus should actually embrace the religion that bears his name.
Why this isn’t self-obviously shocking to us today is a symptom of…
Read moreDear Donald Trump:
Migrants are not animals.
Migrants are not subhuman.
Using such language about them is a dangerous and fascist tactic, designed to dehumanize and create “The Other.” Real leaders don’t light these kinds of matches and stoke these…
Read moreIt’s now more than a week past Tracy Chapman’s incredible performance at this year’s Grammy Awards Show. I can’t stop thinking about it. And it’s reminded me of my favorite Tracy Chapman song.
Most people’s favorite is likely the big…
Read moreThis very hour might be a really good time to re-read this editorial by Paul Jones. It appeared in newspapers, one day after The Beatles first appearance on Ed Sullivan, sixty years ago tonight.
The cultural historian in me wonders…
Read moreI want to circle back to a theme that clearly resonated with people in my post on Taylor Swift/Travis Kelce last week. It’s a concept I’ve come to now understand has a name: “Freudenfreude.”
Loosely defined as:
“Taking joy/pleasure in…
I’ve been writing longform over on Facebook for more than a decade now, but never had anything approaching the reaction to this week’s post on Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce.
10,000 shares?
Are you kidding me?
Wowza.
So…
The United Methodist Church is now a Center-Left denomination.
America is a Center-Left Nation.
These are the twin theses I want to put before you today.
After the past several years of bitter and partisan theological infighting, our separation into…
Read moreLet’s talk Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, and a very specific freaking out happening right now. Because it’s a NEW kind of freaking out. It’s not the same old “Taylor-hating.”
And I think I know exactly what’s driving it.
The world…
Read moreWe saw the “Tina Turner Musical” this week, and a brief moment of the narrative has stayed with me, touched me deeply, and seems to speak deep truth about our need to be entertained, and perhaps even our continued fascination…
Read moreDallas awakes to snow and ice, and flurries continuing to fall as I write, and I’m here to update you again about our ministry helpful our houseless neighbors.
Yesterday, it seems to me, was one of those both beautiful and…
Read moreDuring this Christmas season, I’ve written meditations on one of my favorite literary works of all time:
WH Auden’s “For The Time Being.” (FTTB)
Here are links to each section.
Feel free to keep this page handy, for easy future…
The Final Section of WH Auden’s “For the Time Being” (FTTB)
(For the Previous Section: Click Here.)
So finally, today, I offer a our final mediation on this great Christmas Play.
Those who celebrate the Commercialist Christmas —who believe…
Read moreSection Eight of WH Auden’s “For The Time Being.” (FTTB)
And so, after the theological/philosophical ramblings of the last section, WH Auden returns us to the characters again.
Let’s get to it.
First, as I’ve done with other sections…
Read moreSection Seven of WH Auden’s “For The Time Being.” (FTTB)
(For the previous section: Click Here)
I should say from the outset that in my many readings of FTTB, I often skip over this entire section. It’s always felt…
Read moreTHE VISION OF THE SHEPHERDS/AT THE MANGER
Sections Five and Six of WH Auden’s “For The Time Being.” (FTTB)
(For section four: click here)
Well, I’ve gotten a bit behind schedule, and so we’ll cover two sections today. But…
Read moreTHE SUMMONS
SECTION FOUR OF WH AUDEN’S “FOR THE TIME BEING” (FTTB)
(For Section Three, click here)
After a break for New Year’s weekend, let’s continue with our conversation about WH Auden’s “For the Time Being,” (FTTB) and section…
“THE TEMPTATION OF ST. JOSEPH”
SECTION TWO OF WH AUDEN’S “FOR THE TIME BEING” (FTTB)
(For Second Two, click here)
As I’ve already said previously, this is my favorite section of the entire poem, and a bit of writing/theology…