Jesus the Preacher
From three years ago, a prayer in response to Luke 4.14-30: When you preached favor for “us,” we spoke well of you. But when you preached favor for “them,” we were ready to throw you off a cliff. What did you feel…
It’s Tuesday, but Wednesday’s Coming
It’s hard to look past election day for most of us because our future has been cast in increasingly apocalyptic terms. One gets the impression that no matter who is elected, it’s all over. The level of alarm, panic, and…
Who Are We?
Who are we? We claim Elijah P. Lovejoy as a hero, but not the angry crowd that repeatedly gathered to throw his printing press into the river. The angry crowd that ultimately killed him. The angry crowd that made it…
Press On
The message I shared at tonight’s winter meeting of the Riverbend Ministerial Alliance–at least according to my notes. So this is probably close. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is…
Responsible Disobedience
Offered in tribute and defense of some dear sisters and brothers whose disobedience today provides one more altar call for our community. Getting arrested for civil disobedience is not irresponsible. Nonviolent civil disobedience is one of the most responsible and…
Hope
I composed this message for a community prayer and lament service we (several area ministers and I) led in the wake of the Charleston massacre. About a third of the Psalms in the Bible are psalms of lament, so the…
Jesus Got Shot for You: The Gospel in Contemporary Images (or An Extended Allusion to Romans 1-8)
Walter Scott and Eric Harris, both unarmed black men fleeing from police, were shot and killed in the span of six days at the beginning of April. The officers who shot them have each been charged with crimes, and the…
So How Was the March?
God works so slowly that he seems irresponsibly patient. When rain falls from the sky it’s almost as if God intends it to bless the righteous and the unrighteous alike. And when the sun rises, both the godly and the…
Marching for the Guilty
Tomorrow I am going to march through St. Louis to mourn injustice. The Mourning March has been organized as a prayer of lament to gather the sorrow of our city and direct it to God. We’re marching on Holy Saturday,…
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