THE BLOG
Jesus’ preferred teaching style is the parable. Although the format of the parable is not rigidly structured, it is Jesus’ preferred teaching genre whenever his topic is the Dream of God (or Reign of...
The Feast of Pentecost is one of the oldest feast days observed by the church. In fact, it is the celebration of the birth of the church. Unfortunately, our celebration has become little more than a...
The image of the Good Shepherd is an image that is quite familiar within the church and remains one of the most familiar images depicted in Christian art. Who hasn’t seen a picture or a stained-glass...
One of the most ancient rituals of the Christian Church is the Great Vigil of Easter. As with all true rituals, this celebration of the resurrection afforded the community the means to remember, cele...
Palm Sunday, we must admit, is a very strange worship service. The service begins outside the church where we acknowledge, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” But almost immediat...
The gospel lesson appointed for the first Sunday in Lent sets the stage for the season by recounting Jesus’ baptism and his experience in the wilderness. Typically, when people recall Jesus’ baptism,...
Our religious understanding of Lent has become truncated — reduced to little more than a manufactured attempt to merit God’s grace. The focus the church has espoused is one of penance which most ofte...
Ash Wednesday is the liturgical service that kicks off the season of Lent. And, like so many of our liturgical expressions, its meaning and purpose has become obfuscated by an institutional perspecti...
The Feast of the Epiphany is celebrated on January 6th. The word “epiphany” simply means manifestation or appearance. Thus, the Feast of the Epiphany is the celebration of the manifestation of God, ...
Christmas, at least in western culture, is a season that is an amalgamation of secular and religious celebrations. In American culture the assimilation of the celebrations is so complete that even th...
Advent, in many ways, is the most confused season of the Church year. Liturgically the first Sunday in Advent marks the beginning of the Church year. Yet the season’s meaning and relevance is poorly...
The previous blog post where I addressed the essence of ritual inspired me to continue in that vein of thought and address the fundamental component of ritual within the church — the sacraments. The ...
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