Christ is risen! In the church I was raised we just didn't do the Lord's Supper very often. In fact, there are years where I can't remember if we did it at all through a particular year. And that didn't strike me as strange or unusual. After all it was...
Christ is risen! It's a running joke in the family: "Where do you want to go eat?" "I don't know. Where do you want to go?" What ensues now is a comedy of conversation that sees me offer several places, all of which are rejected. So, I finally say "OK,...
Christ is risen! "Step right up Ladies and Gentlemen, see the most amazing sights you could ever imagine!" You've heard these words before. Carnival barkers trying to get you to spend the money to see the "amazing snake boy, half boy, half snake!" Or the "amazing Elephant Man." Curiosity, entertainment,...
Christ is risen! I come from a generation that was suspicious of tattoos! And the generation before me, forget about it! My grandfather, a lifelong police officer, always said that tattoos were degrading to a man. Wow, some pretty strong words, especially in light of today's generation that consider "body...
Christ is risen! Most people confuse power and authority. They think power IS authority but they are mistaken. In fact, I'd say the modern obsession with power is precisely because we have lost the ability to appreciate real authority. Just look at any community in the aftermath of some event...
Christ is risen! St. Maximus the Confessor says "Food is not evil, but gluttony is. Childbearing is not evil, but fornication is. Money is not evil, but avarice is. Glory is not evil, but vainglory is. Indeed, there is no evil in existing things, but only in their misuse." So,...
Christ is risen! The famous author J.K. Rowling once said: “I’m interested in that drive, that rush to judgment, that is so prevalent in our society. We all know that pleasurable rush that comes from condemning, and in the short term it’s quite a satisfying thing to do, isn’t it?” And she’s...
Christ is Risen! It's easy to hear "Obedience is better than sacrifice" but it's usually hard to do. Especially in our very individualistic, modern society, obedience "feels' like slavery. Of course it feels like slavery because IT IS a kind of slavery. Look at our Lesson today in John 2:1-11: At that...
Christ is risen! "What would Jesus do?" That phrase was popular a few years ago, and I confess to being amused by this fad of "easy religion." One of the main reasons was that the life of Jesus is not easily categorized as the comfortable "Jesus" we moderns would prefer....
Christ is risen! Ah, the beauties of Springtime! And the hay fever! For those of us susceptible to the reign of terror that is pollen season; the watery eyes, the stuffy nose, basically all the bad stuff on all the commercials we see for medicine to combat this scourge of...
