Chaplainmike

Pic & Poem of the Week: October 16, 2016

(Click on picture for larger image) When our first grandchild came to be with us, my father held back, unable to bring himself again to give his heart to another child, another who would call forth his love, no matter the cost. And then, knowing her smallness, her helplessness, her inheritance of this world’s sorrow,Continue reading “Pic & Poem of the Week: October 16, 2016”

Saturday Ramblings: October 15, 2016

RAMBLER OF THE WEEK In a “jingle-jangle morning” a long time ago, a young folk singer from Minnesota began a complex and rambling journey that has continued through my entire lifetime and still goes on today. His trek reached a culmination this week when the Nobel Prize committee awarded Bob Dylan the prize for Literature. TodayContinue reading “Saturday Ramblings: October 15, 2016”

Jesus blesses all the wrong people, even pastors

Note from CM: I had the privilege of going downtown to hear Nadia Bolz-Weber speak tonight. She did a couple of readings, took questions and answers, oversaw her signature “ham raffle,” and signed books and took pictures with folks afterwards. I found her humble, funny, and thoughtful. Yes, she used some words we don’t normallyContinue reading “Jesus blesses all the wrong people, even pastors”

Letter to Jesus 2: The Pharisee in the Mirror

Dear Jesus, How is it that the people who claim to follow you most closely bear such a marked resemblance to the ones you criticized most during your ministry? People of the Book. Separated from “sinners.” Concerned for your glory. We are devoted to studying the scriptures and parsing out their meaning and application to ourContinue reading “Letter to Jesus 2: The Pharisee in the Mirror”

Christ’s Rabble, or Regular Folks?

David Bentley Hart has written a challenging piece at Commonweal, called “Christ’s Rabble,” in which he asks “whether in our wildest imaginings we could ever desire to be the kind of persons that the New Testament describes as fitting the pattern of life in Christ.” How does the New Testament describe such persons? Hart speaks of them generally inContinue reading “Christ’s Rabble, or Regular Folks?”

Sermon: And he was a Samaritan

Sermon: Luke 17:11-19, “And he was a Samaritan” On the way to Jerusalem Jesus was going through the region between Samaria and Galilee. As he entered a village, ten lepers approached him. Keeping their distance, they called out, saying, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” When he saw them, he said to them, “Go and showContinue reading “Sermon: And he was a Samaritan”

Music Monday: October 10, 2016

Music Monday: Music from the North Country Last year, in a Saturday Ramblings post, I listed five of my favorite “autumnal” music albums, and one of them was by a family group from Nova Scotia named The Rankin Family, called North Country. The Rankins as a musical group were born out of the practice ofContinue reading “Music Monday: October 10, 2016”

Pic & Poem of the Week: October 9, 2016

(Click on picture for larger image) • • • Immortal Autumn I speak this poem now with grave and level voice In praise of autumn, of the far-horn-winding fall. I praise the flower-barren fields, the clouds, the tall Unanswering branches where the wind makes sullen noise. I praise the fall: it is the human season.Continue reading “Pic & Poem of the Week: October 9, 2016”

Saturday Ramblings: October 8, 2016

INTERNET MONK RAMBLER OF THE WEEK This week we’re inaugurating a new way to open Saturday Ramblings. Each Saturday we will give honor to a Rambler of the Week, someone who shows us what it means to live the journey of life fully. The only qualifications will be that the person honored will exhibit interesting andContinue reading “Saturday Ramblings: October 8, 2016”

Another Look: Profoundly Human

In the story of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9-14), we hear a story from Jesus’ lips about how the trappings of religion can keep us far from God. Oddly, the benefits of the religious life that enhance our thoughts, words, and actions, that re-order our relationships and priorities and bring us new purposeContinue reading “Another Look: Profoundly Human”