Ash Wednesday
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Wednesday, February 18, 2015 | Ash Wednesday: Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10
As we contemplate mortality and finitude, I wonder if we could treasure washing the dishes.
The poor door: Class separation in the church
People are rightly disgusted by buildings with separate entrances for low-income residents. But churches have side-door people, too.
Do I have to take Isaiah 58:7 literally?
A particular verse of scripture has been haunting me lately. I hear it as an indictment of an aspect of my personal life.
First, it was a lectionary text in Epiphany. Then I found it in the unifying passage of a devotional book I read.
“Bring the homeless poor into your house,” we read in Isaiah 58:7, part of a passage on genuine fasting.
Contemplative congregation: An invitation to silence
We began our business meeting in the chapel with dimmed lights. I led the board through several calming prayers, noticing our breath and heartbeats.
Why we still need confession
Most of us do not take criticism well. We get defensive, make excuses, or blame others. Nor do we engage in much self reflection or acknowledgement of our personal failings.
A lot of churches have deleted the prayer of confession from their Sunday morning orders of worship because of complaints that “those prayers are too depressing,” or “those things don’t apply to me.”
Sunday, February 9, 2014: Isaiah 58:1-9a
It’s not quite Lent, but we can see it from here.
Making Lent difficult: The case for rigorous disciplines
Sustainable Lenten disciplines anticipate an Easter in which they will continue. But surely Easter hope is for something more.
by Ted A. Smith
Ash Wednesday: Isaiah 58:1-12; 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10; Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Isaiah gives voice to God. God is amazed at our epistemic closure.
by James Alison
What’s in a promise? Living by covenant, not contract
Monastic vows sound familiar to anyone who's been to a wedding. In both marriage and celibacy, we promise to be faithful.
The story behind the song
The psalms are poignant. They bear emotion in a way that grabs our souls. They are comprehended by the heart in a way the head can’t.
But I falter when I try to preach them.
In praise of snow
Snow can be tiresome, even deadly, but it can also be a sign of holiness and of hope.
by Rodney Clapp
Suffering and salvation: Jeremiah 31:31-34; Psalm 51:1-12; John 12:20-33
Psalm 51 does not let any of us off the hook—not the progressives, the evangelicals, or the feel-good agnostics.