Colossians 3:1-14 – J B Phillips paraphrase Last Tuesday, our monthly men’s group was sitting in a corner of a city restaurant.  We are companions across a variety of academic interests and personal beliefs, so the conversation is never dull, always polite and mostly edgy.  For the barest moment I caught my face in the […]

Mark 10:13-16: People were bringing little children to Jesus in order that he might touch them; and the disciples spoke sternly to them.  But when Jesus saw this, he was indignant and said to them, ‘Let the little children come to me; do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the […]

Colossians 1:12-20 (International Commission on English in the Liturgy) Give thanks to the Father, who made us fit for the holy community of light and rescued us from darkness, bringing us into the realm of his beloved Son who redeemed us, forgiving our sins. Christ is an image of the God we cannot see. Christ […]

Dear God Complicate my world Make my thoughts subtle Give me nuanced perspectives Disturb my settled ways. Deprive me of easy solutions Demolish my glib explanations Disrupt my black-and-white vision Keep me from being right Starve me of ready-made beliefs Upset my certainties Hide from me the truth Increase my doubt Banish me from the […]

“Greet no one on the road?” “If anyone is there who shares in peace, your peace will rest on that person; but if not, it will return to you?” “I have given you authority to tread on snakes and scorpions?” “And nothing will hurt you.” (Luke’s Gospel, chapter 10) How can we, as a community […]