(Isaiah 58:1-9a) In March 2022, Bonnie Kristian, a columnist at Christianity Today, wrote that public reaction to the pandemic had caused her to have a more positive view of social welfare as a means to help the poor. That might not sound like a surprising statement, but in her case, it was, because politically, Kristian…
JANUARY 29, 2023 COMBINED JAZZ SERVICE @ FIRST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH (Micah 6:1-8) “It’s an old man dancing like a chicken and singing,” said the teenage girl, laughing uncontrollably as she watched a video in her bedroom. Her father, a professor named Arthur Brooks, poked his head into her room to see what was going…
(Psalm 27:1, 4-9) David, the presumptive author of this psalm, clearly values safety. He doesn’t like to be afraid. In verse 1 alone, he mentions the fear factor twice! Perhaps this is why the psalm reads like a foxhole monologue. It invokes images of “evildoers,” “adversaries and foes,” armies, enemies and violence. David longs for…
(Isaiah 49:1-7) There’s something romantic about a lighthouse. It’s hauntingly picturesque, standing tall against the elements, offering a beacon of hope in the darkest night to a lone ship seeking safe harbor. A lighthouse is a symbol of hope against all odds. Even in the hour of one’s most desperate need, a light on a…
(Psalm 29) There’s not a year that goes by without the Earth shuddering, sinking, shifting, shrugging or doing something spectacular. We call these events “natural disasters.” The legal profession and insurance companies call them “acts of God.” Acts of God. It’s a quite human reaction to some of these catastrophes. The psalmist agrees. “The voice…
(Matthew 2:13-23) Today is not a happy anniversary. Exactly 100 years ago, on January 1, 1923, the Rosewood massacre began. Like the massacre of children in the gospel of Matthew, Rosewood reminds us of the devastating impact of violence, especially on the most vulnerable members of our communities. Rosewood was a quiet and mostly African…
