Mark's story of Jesus's baptism is like a storm front. The brightness of the baptism and the descent of the dove is met, almost immediately, by the darkness of the temptation in the wilderness, and the whole story seems to exist in that liminal space where warm air meets cold air and a storm begins … Continue reading Blessed Voyagers
Author: KPB Stevens
Ash Wednesday
I read T.S. Eliot's poem Ash-Wednesday every year, right before the day itself. I used to read it so that I'd be stimulated to deep and important thoughts, as a kind of crib sheet for writing a meaningful sermon about the day. But lately I read it for itself. As a poem, it sometimes feels … Continue reading Ash Wednesday
“The full purpose of the tadpole has been revealed in the frog.”
Mike Baughman, who writes for The Hardest Question, suggests that what we call transfiguration is actually metamorphosis (metamorpho being the Greek that we translate as "transfiguration"). If that's so, than the story of Jesus on Mount Tabor is the same story that tadpoles and caterpillars enact in nature. Jesus undergoes a metamorphosis. His divinity is … Continue reading “The full purpose of the tadpole has been revealed in the frog.”
Thomas Bray
When Thomas Bray was born in 1656, England was under the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell. The theaters were closed, public entertainment was severely limited, and church-going was mandatory. Much of the public was still illiterate, and national and political news mostly came from the pulpit. Clergy had a privileged place in society. They were among … Continue reading Thomas Bray
The Leper in Galilee
Lately, when I find myself getting ready to preach on a passage that I've preached on many times before, I've been asking myself one basic question to get around the dispiriting feeling that I've run out of things to say. The question is this: who is the most interesting person in this story (barring Jesus, … Continue reading The Leper in Galilee
KPB Stevens 