A God Who Stoops: Thoughts for Advent 1

Mark 13:24-37; Isaiah 64:1-9 Preparing for the first Sunday of Advent one year, I asked a colleague, Samuel Voth Schrag, what he was thinking about for his upcoming sermon “Oh,” he said, “I’m going to talk about Dues ex machina.” In case you’ve forgotten your English classes, duex ex machina is a literary device: It…

Looking Toward Advent

I’ve been tempted to cancel Lent before, but never Advent. I’m a true Advent-lover. At church we sing Advent hymns—no Christmas carols until Christmas Eve. At home we do Advent candles and a calendar. Even my 13-year-old daughter takes Advent seriously; she has put away the baby Jesuses from our nativity sets and says she’ll…

The Parable of the Three Servants

(Matthew 25: 14-30) It is convenient that the unit of money used in this parable gets transliterated as “talent.” So we don’t have to talk about money; we can just talk about our talents and how we should use them and not bury them—because surely we all want to enter into the joy of our…

A Word to the Wise

Reflections on the Parable of the Wise and Foolish Maidens Matthew 25: 1-13 Someone once told me there are two kinds of people in the world: those who divide the world in to two kinds of people, and those who do not. Rich and poor; men and women; Republicans and Democrats, believers and non-believers, liberal…

Actually, Guns Are the Problem

Dear Congressional Representatives who Keep Saying that the “Real Problem” is Mental Illness, Mental illness is, indeed, a real problem. Please, by all means, address the issue of mental health in our country. We need more and better mental health clinics, more and better training for teachers, police, medical personnel, and others who interact with…

Call to Worship: One in Christ

This Sunday will be the first in our “Rooted and Grounded” series, exploring the biblical and theological bases for some of our dearly held values. We begin by exploring the biblical foundation for anti-racism work. Our call to worship is based on Genesis 1:27 and Galatians 3:28-29.       We are created by God…

Saturday Prayer: A Prayer from Psalm 46

My RevGals prayer for this week: Saturday Prayer: A Prayer from Psalm 46 Holy, Compassionate, Comforting, Empowering God, You are our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Let us not fear, though the earth quakes; though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though its…

Thoughts on the Nashville Statement

In the spirit of “better late than never,” here are some thoughts about the Nashville Statement: To all who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, asexual, intersex, transgender, gender non-conforming, questioning and/or otherwise queer: God created you and loves you. You are sacred, you are worthy, you are an integral part of the true Church. I…

The Opportunity for a Movement

At the Poor People’s Campaign rally in Topeka, KS, this past Monday night, Rev. William Barber told us about a map of the United States. A map that shows what states have the highest rates of poverty, poorest health care access, highest number of racist incidents, highest rates of violence against LGBTQ people, and highest…