“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction The adage, God’s ways are not our ways, comes in handy when we are faced with hardship and tragedy. When things go awry, when that message comes, that phone rings, that letter arrives, that event happens, we try to make sense of it. And when we can’t, we resolve to comfort ourselves with a bit of spiritual and intellectual surrender as we reluctantly whisper, …

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction The ethical portion of Paul’s Letter to the Romans centers this poignant entreaty: it is less about you and your religious purity and more about your neighbor and your impact on your neighbor. Too often Christian ethics and piety revolve around the self: all the things I do to be (read: feel) holy and good, the sacred acts…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction Faith and love are intimately connected in the Christian’s life. To have faith in God is to love God; to love God is to have faith in God. How could one have faith in God and not also love God and what God loves? There’s really no argument about the deep and abiding correlation between the two.

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“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction Paul spends most of his letters to the Romans explaining—in stunning detail—the intricate theology weaving together the coming of the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, the role of faith in the life of the believer (both Jewish and Gentile), the relationship of the believer to the law and God’s righteousness, and the unity in diversity of the body of Christ being comprised of the adopted Children of God, the ones who are foreknown and called, both the siblings of Paul according to the flesh…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction We take for granted the nature of the gospel and the generosity of Christ. Because it’s been well over 2000 years since Christ walked this earth and made an impact causing a Second Testament to be added to the Hebrew scriptures in the 4th century, we take for granted the work of Christ, the things that he did that (intentionally and unintentionally) upheaved the status-quo of the kingdom of humanity, exposed divine expectation, and made God tangible to all who were forced to be without God or convinced they were unworthy to be with God.

ALT: Morning Coffee I Am Up

PS: I wrote this for the student body of Ascension Episcopal School on our first Eucharist/Opening Service of the year (or thereabouts) when I was the theology teacher there (8th, 11th-12th). Walking with those students, even on the bad days, was one of the best experiences I've ever had vocationally. PSS: I could add to this "teaching," too; teaching also has a strong story component to it but in the sense of story analysis and breaking down the story into various parts, seeing what is moving and hearing what is ticking behind the words of the story.

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction Our lectionary jumps from Romans 9:1-5 to Romans 10:5-15. This seems curious. However, Paul’s impassioned declaration of love for his siblings according to the flesh who do not follow Christ at the beginning of Romans 9 finds its conclusion in the very first part of Romans 10. Specifically, Romans 10:4 is crucial to understanding the link between what Paul says in the beginning of Romans 9 and what he continues to say in Romans 10:

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction Over the course of 8 chapters, Paul crafted a biblical and theological account of the union of the Roman believers amongst themselves and with God by faith in Christ and by the Power of the Holy Spirit. He demonstrated that they are the adopted children of God, they are siblings, and , they are a family, thus they are the body of Christ: one, unified, grown together, all of them foreordained, called, justified and glorified.

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction Last week, Paul moved his readers from the introspection of chapter 7 to the extrospection of chapter 8, Paul exhorted the Roman Christians to understand the symbiotic relationship redeemed humanity has with all of creation yearning for liberation, specifically the liberation that comes with the presence of the glory of God made known in the revelation of the adopted children of God—the ones who are saved by faith in Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit apart from…

During the summer session I taught for BSK Theological Seminary this summer, I asked the students to submit weekly 300-word responses on the weekly assigned readings. For the last week, I assigned some poetry and lyrics by Tupac Shakur and a speech by Malcolm X ("The Ballot or the Bulelt", 1964). The responses--across the board--were powerful; potentially the best week of responses of the seven (and, tbh, each week collected strong responses!). With that said, the following response about Tupac Shakur's poem "How Can We Be Free" written by The Rev.

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction The last time we were in Romans, we were with Paul and his heart-felt confession that within him there is another law at work, the law of sin. Romans 7:15-25, describes that within the person a battle wages between desiring and acting, willing and practicing. Paul spoke of desiring to do the good but the evil, being closer at hand, that is the thing he does; it is easier because it, unlike the good, is in his flesh, it is embedded in his muscle memory, doesn’t demand change and requires less effort.

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction The last two Sundays we’ve covered Paul’s argument in Romans 6 that leed to his prohibitions against returning to sin and the life of the old person who is persuaded by the ways of the kingdom of humanity and exhortations to the believers in Rome to pursue the reign of God, to actively present themselves for service in God’s mission of the divine revolution of love, life, and liberation.

ALT: Man Says 'Alright, I'm Gonna Go Cry'

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction Last week we looked at Romans 6:1-11 and saw how Paul, using baptism and faith, demonstrates that we cannot voluntarily re-yoke ourselves to sin and the death, indifference, and captivity of the kingdom of humanity. We are grown together with Christ in both his death and, thus, his resurrection through our identification by faith with Christ (and his death thus his resurrection).

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction Continuing with our journey through Romans, we find ourselves in the first half of chapter 6. Here, Paul is addressing claims coming from the Corinthian church, specifically claims that if believers sin more than God’s grace abounds more. Paul is clear here, while we are justified by faith apart from works, we must not…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction Nothing makes me more excited about the lectionary than seeing Romans listed as the epistle reading. There’re a few reasons for this. First, the Letter of Paul to the Romans features significantly as one of the principle texts of Luther’s reformational insights thus is a “must read” for Protestant Christians generally and Protestant theologians specifically.

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction We are all called to participate in God’s mission of the divine revolution of love, life, and liberation. Everyone who can say, by the Spirit speaking through them, “Jesus is Lord” (1 Cor 12:3-13), is commissioned by the same Spirit to represent Jesus in the world by working for the wellbeing of the neighbor to the glory of God.

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction While all the events marking key and signature moments in the life and death of Christ must be equally emphasized in the life of the church, it is his ascension and thus the sending of the divine Holy Spirit that establishes and motivates the church, the body of Christ, the…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction Lately, I’ve heard much about hope and our need to have it. Considering that we are immersed in socio-political events (both national and global) that are chaotic and tumultuous, this plea to the keeping and having of hope makes sense.

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction There’s a malignant and pervasive feature of Protestant Christian social and political ethic that goes like this: faith has nothing to do with the temporal realm, preaching is never supposed to be political, and obedience for obedience’s sake is law.

On Saturday, the deacon of Nativity and I had the opportunity to lead two animal blessings at Grand Valley Horse Rescue . The first blessing (11-12) was our Episcopal Eucharist celebration in honor of St. Francis; the second (12-1) was our "sacred secular" blessing that we offer monthly on the first Sunday of the month. The homily below was offered during the Episcopal Eucharist celebration and blessing.

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introduction The Christian journey into God should be marked by the many deaths we walk through with Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

“‘Dear Lord God, I wish to preach in your honor. I wish to speak about you, glorify you, praise your name. Although I can’t do this well of myself, I pray that you may make it good.’”[i] Introducti…

Luke 18:13d: “‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’” Introduction Help, I have done it againI have been here many times beforeHurt myself again todayAnd the worst part isthere’s no one else to b…