Posts

The Passover, the Plant, & the Plan

-
Image
Have you taken time to admire the plants in bloom this spring? As trees, flowers, and meadows survive the year, they cycle through seasons of withering and death, followed by hydration and a fresh start. We see our favorite plants bloom and are reminded of new life evidenced by colorful blossoms, germination, and the teeming of butterflies and bumble bees. When Jesus sees the hyssop plant lifted to his lips, he knows his springtime death will bring new life to humanity. However, the life he provides for us will never wither away. Here is the scene. Jesus is on the cross at this point. He has been falsely tried in humanity’s courts, tortured within an inch of his life, and the Roman soldiers who pinned him to the cross are laughing and gambling for the very clothes they stripped off his body. Jesus uses one of his limited breaths to utter a request, “I thirst” (Jn. 19:28). His disciple, John, is nearby and tells us what he sees, “A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge...
1 comment
Read more

Summer BBQs and the Eucharist

-
Image
“Wait. Hold up!” I stopped a conversation to finish formulating a corny joke in my head. We were at the summer BBQ for the men’s group at my church. Pork ribs were the main entrée for the night. I knew there must be some connection between Genesis and the gospels here. Finally, it came to me. The resulting joke was underwhelming for those who had to suffer hearing it. However, for me, it was like a satisfying ribbon of rabbinic poetry flowing from the recesses of socially awkward intent. “If we are having ribs tonight, I wonder if the speaker is teaching on Genesis 2,” I said. I was referencing the scene when God puts Adam to sleep and creates Eve from a rib taken from Adam’s side. My satisfied smile was met with slow head shakes and disapproval. Preparations for the event picked right back up where they left off as I walked away feeling like I had accomplished my purpose for the night. When my internal laughter faded, I began to think more about the Garden of Eden scene in light of ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Harlem Globetrotters and Christ's Heart for Children

-
Image
  “Everybody, hold your babies in the air,” yelled a Globetrotter from center court. The arena filled with laughs and cheers as the Lion King soundtrack’s, Circle of Life, played for thousands of people. This was the scene as the Harlem Globetrotters proudly hoisted a toddler above head whom they retrieved from his mother and father who sat joyfully in the crowd. As the Trotters comically reenacted the famous scene of Simba’s public presentation, they found a way to include not just one young fan, but multiple young fans into their show, all at once. The basketball play was skillful, the comedy was entertaining, but what impacted me the most about the Globetrotters was their care for the children of our city. Multiple times they centered kids in their comedy routines. It was all new to the kids of course, but the Trotters listened and reacted to the kids witfully. They invited youngsters to dance, run and play with them on the biggest stage in town. Beyond the four quarters of pl...
Post a Comment
Read more

Thanksgiving and the Man in the Tree

-
Image
Can we do more? Today millions of people with gather around the dinner table and tell one another what they are thankful for. My question is, “Is there more though?” In reading Luke 19:1-10, I believe the answer is, yes. Zacchaeus’ thanksgiving is not only a reflection, but also a response. He shows us thanksgiving in not just something we are to do at the gathering, furthermore it flows from the gathering and communion with Christ. Zacchaeus puts skin on the bones of gratitude by taking it beyond warm sentiment to a faithful pledge of action. The Scripture tells us that Zacchaeus was a son of Abraham and a tax collector. He was a Jewish man, doing the Roman governments bidding to collect on the debts of his Jewish neighbors. As a tax collector, Zacchaeus was a pitbull for the oppressing government’s treasury, and any surplus that he was able to finagle from his own people was used to line his pockets. To put it in today’s terms, imagine your neighborhood friend growing up to work fo...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Severity of Sin

-
Image
“They are waiting for you.” A corrections deputy greets me with these words as I walk into one the largest housing units in our jails. Looking ahead, I see a small sea of chairs filled with inmates, all ready for the viewing. I like to believe it is not me they are waiting for, rather they are waiting to see the King.                 Leading up to Easter Sunday a request comes across my desk that men in a certain housing unit are asking to watch the movie The Passion of the Christ . After an initial stun my mind floods with thoughts that God is up to something special in our jails. To add a bit of context, we are in a region of the United States known as the “Unchurched Belt.” Our state is considered one of the least religious in the nation. General statistics may tell one story about believing and nonbelieving adults in this state, but on this day the numbers tell a different story. Roughly 50 men gather aroun...
1 comment
Read more

Jesus On-call

-
Image
                A simple beeping sound changed my whole day yesterday. I am in my car driving home from work already quite a bit later than usual. Then I hear it. The power this little beeping tone has is amazing. It makes adult pull their car over and drop anything else they might be doing. I reach to the passenger seat and pull the tiny pager out of my peacoat pocket like a scene from the late 90s. When I call the number on display, I find that there are two emergencies to be tended to. One at each major jail in the city. As the on-call chaplain this day, it is my job to respond, regardless of my regular work hours. So, I turn the car around and head back to the jail I just left. Following that stop, I made the 40-minute trip across one of the busiest freeways in the city to tend to the other emergency.                 A series of unpredicted circumstances led to me ...
3 comments
Read more