What Matters
So there is a scene in the Woody Allen movie Annie Hall in which Woody’s character Alvy Singer is responding to charges that he is a downer, that he can’t […]
Posts
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Babel
The power of Pentecost is that it creates a new definition of community: not defined by any one national or ethnic tradition, but as something universal, available to all people, as they are, and in their language.
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Come Over to Macedonia
that is true, then those with whom we would share the gospel do not have to become like us in order to receive the message. That grace is already present in their lives, in their cultural contexts, in their communities.
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On the Necessity of Doubt
If Jesus is the model of perfect faith, and his twin is Thomas, who models doubt, then what we understand is that faith and doubt are not antitheses, they are twins.
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They Know Not What They Do
I. BEGINNING Rev. Mark SchaeferCongregation of St. Thomas the DoubterApril 10, 2022—Palm SundayLuke 23:32–38 This word of Jesus from the cross is by far the most “Christian” of the things […]
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Speaking of His Departure
The Exodus led a people out of bondage into a new land where they were called to establish an alternative social model to those of the kingdoms around them. In the same way, the Gospel calls us out of our bondage to power and injustice, to create an alternative community grounded in justice, love, service, and fellowship.
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Faith Questions (2022)
[Transcription coming soon]
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Grace and Scarcity
Perhaps it is because we view grace as scarce that we wish to be assured that we have figured out how to obtain it. Perhaps it is because we have an innate distrust of things that are free. Perhaps there is just something deep in our animal nature that wants to eat up all of the supply because we fear we will never see it again.
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Serving the Good Wine Last
Because I just can’t stop thinking how surprising it was. The way that the old rabbis always talked about how surprising God’s grace was. How surprising it was that God chose Moses. How surprising that God chose David. God was always doing things in surprising places and at surprising times with surprising people. What’s to say that the good old days are the only times we could have hope? Maybe the good old days weren’t so good after all. Maybe, there is hope ahead. Maybe God is still capable of doing some amazing things. Maybe we should be looking forward to even better wine in days to come.
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Ahead of Them Went the Star
And so, it’s interesting to me to read this story and see how it was that the magi found the Christ child. Though they consulted with the scribes and got the answer from the scriptures, the scribes and scriptures were not enough to help them find Jesus. To do that, they had to follow the star. They had to follow the light. In times of overwhelming darkness, we look to these stars in our firmament and follow these until we encounter the Christ child who waits for us at the end.