fathermarkApr 272 minBelongingWe are something of a counter-cultural community. One of our church's mission tag lines is 'Share Community.' Our others, for the...
fathermarkMar 254 minCoup de GrȃceOkay, I admit it. I'm a bit of a sap for seeing pictures of grace in all sorts of places. Take for instance the ending of the movie...
fathermarkMar 233 minWe Won't Let Hatred GrowAs is often noted, music is a powerful and persuasive communicator. It has a way of getting around and behind our defenses without our...
fathermarkMar 14 minFrom CRT to JRT (from Critical Race Theory to Joyful Race Truth)Critical Race Theory has been quite the stir during the whole pandemic period: race defined along justice lines – oppressors and...
fathermarkFeb 194 minThe Dangers of Re-entryHistory is replete with religiously minded folks that went off the deep end. Just to name a few from the last 50 or 60 years, we could...
fathermarkJan 303 minWine of CleansingOne of the typical Epiphany Gospel readings is from John 2 – the miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. You know the one – where...
fathermarkJan 93 minManifestations of the DivineEpiphany. The season between Christmas and Lent. The actual Feast of the Epiphany was this past Thursday – it's always on January 6th. ...
fathermarkJan 43 minNot Losing Our StoryHistorically, the Church has found that the greatest way to spread the faith and maintain the faith is to tell the story. And...
fathermarkDec 22, 20212 minLeavenJesus told another parable about the Kingdom. He compared its workings to the working of leaven. This parable is similar to the mustard...
fathermarkDec 21, 20212 minMustard SeedsThe mustard seed. It's a very tiny seed, but it grows to be a large shrub or even a tree in warmer climates. When Jesus told the...
fathermarkNov 10, 20212 minOn Being Called HomePeople away on long business trips. Lonely college students near the holidays. Military personnel deployed on combat duty. Homesick...
fathermarkOct 20, 20214 minIdle Talk on a California PierPeople talk. Sometimes with a purpose, sometimes just to pass the time. Even idle conversation can lead to unintended run-ins with the...
fathermarkOct 14, 20213 minJustice and the Joy of the SaintsMovies can be so unpredictable. Maybe it's better to say that my emotional response to movies is very unpredictable. Any good story has...
fathermarkSep 30, 20214 minThinking It Out: Predestined for FreedomPredestination and the free will of mankind. Both are biblical truths, but they don't seem to fit well together. We tend to somehow...
fathermarkSep 23, 20213 minLearning Contentment: lessons from imaginary fruit on an imagined planetA wise old bishop (he really is old – in his nineties now) once described the sinful disposition of our hearts this way: “We want what we...
fathermarkSep 9, 20213 minThe Crazy World of News - AgainTwo posts ago, I mentioned that I would be doing a three-post series on the crazy world of news media. This is the third post and really...
fathermarkSep 2, 20213 minReturn to the Matrix: Notable (?) News, Round 2The Wachowski brothers are now the Wachowski sisters. I didn't see this one in the newspaper, but I did see it in a news feed that...
fathermarkAug 27, 20213 minI Read It in the PaperThe news is not particularly good for you. Watch too much of it and it can mess with your head. It can mess with your heart too. ...
fathermarkAug 15, 20213 minWisdom and FollyIt must be stressed that you really can't know how to read any biblical passage well (or even rightly) without knowing its surrounding...
fathermarkJul 24, 20213 minGoing for GloryI don't know what gets you choked up, but I get teary-eyed and emotional over the strangest things. I watched a few minutes of the...