The Face of Submission Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me; yet, not my will but yours be done. Luke 22:42 The setting for this passage is a garden on the Mount of Olives, moments before Jesus is betrayed into the hands of the temple police to be tried, tortured, and crucified. … Continue reading The Face of Submission
Category: Life Notes
The Face of Normal
The Face of Normal And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only (child), full of grace and truth. No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him … Continue reading The Face of Normal
The Face of Calm
The Face of Calm He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who … Continue reading The Face of Calm
The Bridegroom
The Bridegroom He who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease. John 3:29-30 Here is an unexpected face of God: the bridegroom. In its context, … Continue reading The Bridegroom
An Intimate and Personal Gaze
An Intimate and Personal Gaze A leper came to him begging him, and kneeling he said to him, “If you choose, you can make me clean.” Moved with pity, Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, and said to him, “I do choose. Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy left him, and he was … Continue reading An Intimate and Personal Gaze
A Middle-Eastern Hue
A Middle-Eastern Hue There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28 Being born white in the central part of the United States, it is no surprise I was raised with a … Continue reading A Middle-Eastern Hue
The Face of Compassion
The Face of Compassion When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” John 5:6 To paraphrase Fr. Richard Rohr from a number of his writings, “God is found where the suffering is.” Nowhere is that more … Continue reading The Face of Compassion
A Human Face
A Human Face No one has ever seen God. It is God the only Son, who is close to the Father’s heart, who has made him known. John 1:18 There is a significant difference in the faces of God presented in the Old and New Testaments of the Bible. In the Old Testament, God is … Continue reading A Human Face
Gods I Do Not Believe In
Gods I Do Not Believe In Fools think their own way is right... Proverbs 12:15a When joining the First United Methodist Church in Lawrence, Kansas, shortly after getting married, my wife and I attended an orientation class with the Senior Pastor, Virgil Brady. He explained that United Methodists believe and worship in many different ways. … Continue reading Gods I Do Not Believe In
A Listening God
A Listening God Then the Lord appeared to Solomon in the night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer…If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, pray, seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their … Continue reading A Listening God
Contemplating Grace 