Today’s Lessons Are Not…, Proper 6 (A) – 1996

June 16, 1996

Today’s lessons are not comforting. They run counter to the belief commonly held by many Christians that if you choose to live your life in accordance with God’s word, then everything will be alright. You will live in peace and quiet and that nothing bad will happen to you because you are being good. Today’s […]

One of the Hallmarks…, Proper 5 (A) – 1996

June 02, 1996

One of the hallmarks of modern society is a yearning after justice. Or at least we like to hope–or perhaps pretend–that it is. Justice is an ideal that stands over our political systems and it is the standard against which those systems are judged. We pray for justice: “I ask your prayers for peace; for […]

I Love Tales of the Supernatural…, Last Sunday in Epiphany (A) – 1996

February 18, 1996

I love tales of the supernatural. Perhaps it’s because my mother wouldn’t allow me to watch them when I was younger. All it took was the first telltale strains of the theme music from “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” or “The Twilight Zone” to emerge from the TV set, and immediately my head flew up from the […]

Today’s Gospel Lesson Is A Continuation…, Epiphany 6 (A) – 1996

February 11, 1996

Today’s Gospel lesson is a continuation of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. We have been listening to that Sermon for the last two weeks–it began with the Beatitudes. Unfortunately, we shall not read any more of it this year. One of the difficulties posed by a lectionary, the list of lessons set apart for the […]

Several Years Ago Now…, Epiphany 5 (A) – 1996

February 04, 1996

Several years ago now there was a book which remained many weeks on the various lists of best sellers. The book was “Why Bad Things Happen to Good People.” I cannot confess to having read the book, and, therefore, do not presume to comment on its contents or conclusions. I do want to comment on […]

I Am the Eldest of Three…, Epiphany 4 (A) – 1996

January 28, 1996

I am the eldest of three children. My sister is nine years younger than I. My brother was born only two and a half years after me. And I must confess that I experienced no little sibling rivalry with him. In my toddler’s view of the world, he was a usurper who was pushing me […]