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
Category: meditation
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
A God of Vengeance
A God of Vengeance O Lord, you God of vengeance, you God of vengeance, shine forth! Psalm 94:1 A jealous and avenging God is the Lord, the Lord is avenging and wrathful; the Lord takes vengeance on his adversaries and rages against his enemies. Nahum 1:2 There was a distinct face of vengeance put upon … Continue reading A God of Vengeance
A Merciful God
A Merciful God Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Psalm 51:1-2 If there were a Golden Boy in the Bible – the high school jock blessed with athletic ability, … Continue reading A Merciful God
A Militant God
A Militant God Then Israel made a vow to the Lord and said, “If you will indeed give this people into our hands, then we will utterly destroy their towns.” The Lord listened to the voice of Israel, and handed over the Canaanites; and they utterly destroyed them and their towns. Numbers 21:2-3 There is … Continue reading A Militant God
Contemplating Grace 