Results for "Do Justice"

Dearly Beloved, Grace and Peace to you.                 As new subscribers to the Blizzard of the Week Club we were hit hard enough by the last one that yesterday we held no services at the church building. (Four-foot snowdrifts at the front door, six feet at the back.) But we didn’t cancel worship; we… Continue reading Shut out

Dearly Beloved, Grace and Peace to you.                 As new subscribers to the Blizzard of the Week Club we were hit hard enough by the last one that yesterday we held no services at the church building. (Four-foot snowdrifts at the front door, six feet at the back.) But we didn’t cancel worship; we… Continue reading Shut out

Dearly Beloved, Grace and Peace to you.                 Jesus said, “Let us go on to the neighboring towns, so that I may proclaim the message there also; for that is what I came out to do.” And he went throughout Galilee, proclaiming the message in their synagogues and casting out demons.                   —Mark 1.38-39 The Empire… Continue reading The mending of the world

                There was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.” But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!” And… Continue reading Cast out my demons

Dearly Beloved, Grace and Peace to you.                           I preached and led a retreat on prayer and poetry at the Presbyterian church in Shepherdstown, WV this last weekend. It’s a lovely bunch of people. They explored fearlessly and shared deeply. They inspired me, not by the certitude of their beliefs but in the depth… Continue reading The church of last resort

Dearly Beloved, Grace and Peace to you.             “God will give him the throne of his ancestor David…          and of his kingdom there will be no end.”                   —Luke 1.32, 33               Magi came from the east asking,          “Where is he who is born king of the Jews?          For we have seen his star at its… Continue reading A new empire

My soul is God’s glory. Amazing.         I am awed. I am grateful. The world thought me lowly         but I am blessed. I’ve been given the Holy One’s power: mercy,         mercy I pass on to generations. The strength of God blinds the proud,         confounds those deluded by power. The Just One takes down the powerful,         vacates them from their boardrooms, and… Continue reading Magnificat

Dearly Beloved,Grace and Peace to you.                                     Advent takes on a different feel from the rest of the year: we hang lights, put up decorations, sing about peace and joy. But there always seem to be these dark intrusions into our Christmas preparations: untimely deaths, December tragedies, school shootings, protests over racial injustice,… Continue reading Into this darkness

Dearly Beloved, Grace and Peace to you.                 Christ is above all rule and authority                   and power and dominion.                            —Ephesians 1.21 O Love, be my Sovereign. Rule my world. Control my life. I subject my freedom to your absolute mercy. I pledge my allegiance to your dynasty of justice, the tyranny of your grace, your… Continue reading O Love, be my Sovereign

Dearly Beloved, Grace and Peace to you.                  It is Election Day today in the US, where folks are divided between those who think voting is your sacred duty, those who think it’s useless, and those who want to vote but are prevented by voter suppression laws. The world is divided between those who… Continue reading Election Day