An Elder Pilgrim's Reflections

Then the criminal said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” (from Luke 23:33-43 ) Who deserves mercy? On September 30, 2015, the state of Georgia executed Kelly Gissendaner, who in 1997 murdered her husband, Douglas. While in prison Kelly converted to Christianity and demonstrated that hers was a genuine conversion.  She earned a theology certificate from Emory University, ministered to other inmates with a message of God’s love giving them hope when they desperately needed it.  As her execution date approached, a group of former inmates transformed by Kelly’s prison ministry joined many others who pleaded the state for clemency. The group included correctional officers, Pope Francis, and supporters using hashtag #kellyonmymind, and even Kelly’s adult children who had lost their father because of Kelly’s actions.  All appeals that Kelly’s sentence be commuted to life in prison were...

Therefore you also must be ready,  for the Son of Man is coming  at an unexpected hour. (from Matthew 24:36-44 ) Are you ready? Are you ready for the spiritual journey that's coming? Jesus says, "Then two will be in the field; one will be taken and one will be left." I was standing in my yard listening to the septic technician explain how the malfunctioning pump system in the turkey mound works.  It never occurred to me that one of us may be taken and the other left behind. That's how it was in the days of Noah.  People went about life as usual, right up to the moment when the floods came: two in a field, two grinding meal. Are you ready to be on the ark with someone you hoped would be adrift on a raft? There the person stands, so now what? Jesus says that's how it's going to be when the Son of Man comes. Keep in mind, though, that in Jesus day it was better to be left behind than taken prisoner by the torturing Romans. It's only by Grace that our spiritua...

‘ Nation will rise against nation,  and kingdom against kingdom;  there will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and plagues;  and there will be dreadful portents  and great signs from heaven.' (from Luke 21:5-19 ) I for one, rejoiced on November 9 when the mailings, posters, social media posts, and TV ads ended.  I am finished with the distortions, accusations, and dehumanizing of political candidates. As a Christian with a core theology of peace, I am deeply disturbed by the violent acts and threats against candidates, poll workers, and volunteers who are simply trying to perform civic duty. It's in Jesus' Sermon on the Plain that I find hope.  Jesus is talking to people who are trying to make sense of the destruction of the temple by the Romans in year 70, which was the equivalent of 9/11. In short, the Jews' world of 70 was a broken world like ours is post-election.  So, I read this scripture as a reflection on what happened, not a ...

“But I say to you that listen,  Love your enemies,  do good to those who hate you,  bless those who curse you,  pray for those who abuse you. (from Luke 6:20-31 ) For 30 years I stood before a congregation on Sunday leading worship. I saw all types of people: the poor, the grieving, the comfortable, the wealthy.  When the text for the Sunday included the Beatitudes, I felt a little odd trying to reconcile a blessing in being poor, hungry, hated, crying, or outcast. Since the word blessed comes from the Greek word  makarios,  meaning  “ unburdened ” or “satisfied” I feel those words make more sense: unburdened are the poor, satisfied are the hungry. In the same way the word "woe" comes from the Greek  ouai,  meaning something like "heads up!" "Heads up you rich people!!! It's as though Jesus is saying, "heads up to you living comfortably, things are about to change." Heads up and consider what happens if the things you assume are adv...