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Tag Archive 'rev fred'

Longer Tables, Shorter Walls: The Fuel of Inclusion: Compassion Matthew 9:35 – 10:23, NRSVUE Reflections If there is no struggle, there is no progress. Those who profess to favor freedom, and yet deprecate agitation, are (people) who want crops without plowing up the ground. They want rain without thunder and lightning. They want the ocean […]

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Longer Tables, Shorter Walls: Every Imperfection Belongs Acts 15:36-41, NRSVUE Reflections Mark stands between Barnabas and Paul, each reading Mark from a different and completely true angle. These perspectives on Mark could not be reconciled and neither could Paul and Barnabas. There is no tragedy here, simply the truth that the risks of ministry are […]

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Longer Tables, Shorter Walls: Difference Belongs Isaiah 56:3-5, Acts 8:26-28, NRSVUE Reflections According to the law, a eunuch is excluded from the assembly. The law is very clear on that point. As a Jew, Philip should have viewed the eunuch as “damaged goods” and refused to baptize him on that basis. If Philip baptizes the […]

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Longer Tables, Shorter Walls: Every Body Belongs John 10:1-11, Acts 2:42-47, Acts 3:1-7 NRSVUE Reflections The idea that our bodies don’t matter to God is a lovely idea that comes from a warm place with a cozy blanket, but it is not true. To be sure, I am a beloved child of God, but it […]

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Vignettes of Hope: New Hope (In the Midst of Chains) Acts 16:16-34, NRSV Reflections The United States now has the highest rate of incarceration in the world, dwarfing the rates of nearly every developed country, even surpassing those in highly repressive regimes like Russia, China, and Iran. In Germany, 93 people are in prison for […]

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Vignettes of Hope: A New Way of Seeing Luke 19:28-40, NRSV Reflections Jesus authenticates his resurrection through showing his apostles the physical signs of his suffering. And that is the threat of moral authority people like Jesus pose: a firsthand experience with imperial brutality and a willingness to talk about it. “This is what happened […]

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Full to the Brim: Even The Stones Cry Out Luke 19:28-40, NRSV Reflections We people are the likes of which God came to save. God did not become human and dwell among us as Jesus to save only an improved, doesn’t make the wrong choices kind of people. There is no improved version of humanity […]

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Full to the Brim: You are Worthy Luke 13:1-9, NRSV Reflections Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree. No fruit here, just soaking up the sun, growing roots, turning green, stretching out my branches until I can hug the horizon. Sometimes I wish I was the fig tree, because she doesn’t produce, and she’s […]

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Full to the Brim: Even in the Desert Luke 4:1-13, NRSV Reflections Is everything holy? I learn that when the upper limb of a cottonwood tree is cut crosswise, the grain reveals a perfect five-pointed star. The star is understood as a sign of the Great Spirit’s presence and the tree’s holy nature. Even the […]

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Tell It Slant – Cultivating a Generous Life Matthew 25:14-30, NRSV Reflections Dear God, I am so afraid to open my clenched fists! Who will I be when I have nothing left to hold on to? Who will I be when I stand before you with empty hands? Please help me to gradually open my […]

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