Why are we in such a rush to get to Easter Sunday? In our efforts to make Easter celebrations the most extravagant Sunday of the year, when church attendance is expected to be beyond the norm, we forget — if not…
Usually traditional, NYC church takes different approach on Good Friday
Good Friday services at Madison Avenue Baptist Church are traditional in many ways. Participants are reminded, through music, prayer and scripture readings, of the crucifixion and death of Jesus Christ. Themes of sorrow and grief are experienced in an ornate…
Getting political in the pulpit
The responsibility of the church in this current political climate should be clear. There’s no violation of separation of church and state to say from the pulpit that hitting people who disagree with us is wrong. Or excluding people who believe different things than we do should stop. Or accumulating wealth while many struggle to make a living wage cannot continue.
Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Easter Sunday … What’s Saturday?
Maundy Thursday. “Maundy” is derived from the first word of John 13:34 in Latin: ” Mandatum novum do vobis ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos ut et vos diligatis invicem.” “A new command I give you: Love one another. As…
Good power/bad power (The nonviolent Jesus versus the apocalyptic Christ)
It is vital to our spiritual health to understand the difference between dominant power and spiritual power. Dominant power is the power to externally influence behavior by the use of force, coercion, threat or promise, reward or punishment. Spiritual power,…
10 lessons: looking back on Holy Week
Holy Week invited us to reflect on the deeper matters of faith by revisiting the story of Jesus, especially giving attention to the events that occurred between Jesus’ entry to Jerusalem and his resurrection. The overarching message of God’s love…
How to have a ‘good’ Good Friday
How can Good Friday be good? Good Friday is the day that Christians all around the world remember the suffering of Jesus Christ on a cross. Depictions of Jesus Christ’s suffering are immortalized within our cultural framework because of such…
Holy week demanded holy dialogue
Did Holy Week this year seem to shout out for a new dimension of holy dialogue? It did to me. It was an unusual and disruptive week in several ways. It caused me to think about the need for a…
Tenebrae & Trust
There’s something unfortunate about me and holidays. Like the time my hand got slammed in a door just as I was going in to the sanctuary to preach on Christmas Eve. There’s nothing like standing in front of 500 people,…