Slaughter of the Holy Innocents … again From the manger to a mass grave, from joy to the world to inconsolable wailing, from proclamations of peace to cold blooded death squads, … in a matter of days.
Angel’s Envy, Psalm 41 and Adam Wood Angel's Envy. Who knows, maybe the angels envy my friend Adam Wood. Not even the angels meet that kind of integrity everyday.
Beyond Smugness: The Beatitudes Again If we can be smug about this radical teaching of Jesus, then we demonstrate in our very smugness that we don’t get it.
Forsaken by God: Susannah’s Story And then Jesus lifted up his voice. And he prayed my prayer, he prayed the words of the psalm, the words that my people had cried through the centuries, the words that I had cried over and over, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”
Come to the Table :: A Reflection A reflection on Luke 24:13-35 by Andrew Stephens-Rennie for Come to the Table :: An Evening of Story, Stillness, and Song.
Pastoral Letter for Holy Week: Prayers, Tears, Funerals and Feasts Sisters and brothers: Sometimes things don’t turn out the way you hoped they would.
Resurrection and Forgiveness: A Funeral Sermon for Adam Wood Resurrection happens daily on a farm. Resurrection is in the structure of creation. Resurrection is what makes earth possible. And Adam knew this.
Rape, Healing, and the Author of Our Stories Our brains generally try to explain exceptions through a model of deviance, thus the battered or raped woman is soon morphed from a victim to a (willing) deviant participant. If violence is ‘not supposed to happen’ or is ‘not supposed to happen to me,’ then it’s hard to narrate the violence credibly.
Searching for God On Tuesday morning I returned home. Home to Wine Before Breakfast, the community in Toronto where I discovered that I could still be a Christian after all.
Is New Life Possible? Jesus makes new life possible. Not life driven by fear, but abundant life grounded in the assurance that we are beloved children of God. Each and every one of us. Even on those days we're told we're not. And especially on those days we can't believe it's true.
Communities of Reconciliation What I hope for in 2016 is that I might grow more into my ability to offer such space for reconciliation. What I hope for in 2016 is that my own St. Brigids Community Vancouver will continue to offer in Vancouver the profoundly needed ministry of reconciliation, especially for members of the LGBTQ+ community.
Terror No More: Psalm 9/10 and a terrible week in Canada God’s judgement cuts through the deceit and names evil violence for what it is, whether on Parliament Hill in the hands of a man bent on murder, or on Parliament Hill in legislation that excludes the refugee, despoils the earth, and favours the rich.
Psalm 137, Exile and Rocket Launchers Songs of home, songs of hope, songs that keep a faith alive, are defiled and profaned when they become the trivial entertainment of voyeuristic oppressors.
God is Not in Control I don't buy that there's some underlying meaning to that death, that massacre, that rape, that miscarriage, that war.
Plots, Pressures and Penetration: Neo-Conservative Economics and the Injustice of Rape You see, just as victims of rape and domestic abuse must narrate their story into cultural headwinds and forces of opposition appearing natural, so too must the victims of the Chicago Boys' policies.