Forward Day By Day – March 19, 2018

Monday, March 19, 2018

In searching for Jesus, Zacchaeus climbs a tree to get a better look. The blind man from yesterday’s reading cries out until he has Jesus’ attention. Both men persist until they find Jesus. Perhaps this relentless persistence is why these stories appeal so much to...

Palms and Praise

Monday, March 19, 2018

The post Palms and Praise appeared first on d365 Daily Devotionals. This post appeared here first: Palms and Praise [D365 Daily Devotions]

Casting Out Demons for Lent

Sunday, March 18, 2018

  I have been discovering something about Lent which I had heretofore missed. It is a time when the demons get out. Demons? This is the twenty-first century, isn’t it, and the only people who believe in such entities are the ignorant, superstitious, and biblical...

Forward Day By Day – March 18, 2018

Sunday, March 18, 2018

I imagine this blind man sitting on the side of the road, in the back of the crowd, sensing that something important is happening. He learns from the people near him that Jesus is passing by. And so he shouts for Jesus to have mercy on him. Those crowded around the...

Gum Up The Works

Saturday, March 17, 2018

John 12: 20-33   “What are you huffing about, McMillan?” It was one of my colleagues. Four of us had gone out to the lake for a much-needed, and well-deserved afternoon of relaxation. There is nothing lovelier than a bright blue lake in the middle of...

Forward Day By Day – March 17, 2018

Saturday, March 17, 2018

Some people wear green on the feast day of Saint Patrick and march in parades; others drink green beer. We have managed to box Patrick up pretty tightly and miss the point of his life: To live and preach the Good News of God in Christ. These middle chapters in Luke...

St. Patrick’s Breastplate

Friday, March 16, 2018

St. Patrick’s Day, a day when things turn green. People wear green T-shirts, eat green bagels, drink green beer, stuff themselves with corned beef and cabbage and potatoes, and in short, party. It doesn’t matter whether or not they are actually Irish, of Irish...

Forward Day By Day – March 16, 2018

Friday, March 16, 2018

Lot and his wife are told by God to run from their home without looking back, because the town of Sodom will soon be destroyed. And with the help of some angels, they run. Sadly though, Lot’s wife glances back toward home and is turned into a pillar of salt. She never...

Discernment of gifts

Thursday, March 15, 2018

Daily Office Readings for March 16, 2018: AM Psalm 95 [for the Invitatory] 102; PM Psalm 107:1-32   Exod. 2:1-22; 1 Cor. 12:27-13:3; Mark 9:2-13   I have to admit, Paul’s Epistle speaks to me this week, possibly because Diamond, my new 9 month old lab mix puppy,...

Forward Day By Day – March 15, 2018

Thursday, March 15, 2018

In my mid-20s, I rented an apartment from a colleague. She warned me before I moved in that I might hear negative things about her. There had been one or two complaints from tenants, she said, but her tenants had misspoken and were “crazy.” Soon I realized that my...

Some Cross

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Mark 8:27—9:1 By U.S. standards I am not a wealthy person, but I have more freedom, safety and access to the resources I need than most people in the world.  I have clean water, enough fresh food, basic medical and dental care.  A computer, for heaven’s sake,...

Forward Day By Day – March 14, 2018

Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Recently I saw a young woman in the restroom at a baseball game. She was standing next to the paper towel holder, wiping her eyes, and silently sobbing. I didn’t want to embarrass her and didn’t know what to do. I soundlessly said a prayer and cast my eyes away....

Seventeen

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Seventeen. Seventeen bodies. Seventeen minutes. In some places, they will wait longer: twenty minutes; thirty; because seventeen is too young to die; because they have had to grow old before their time; because there are too many more bodies. Last week, the Episcopal...

Forward Day By Day – March 13, 2018

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

This is one of the most confusing and seemingly disheartening stories in the New Testament. Apparently, we can’t stay on the high road forever. Jesus appears to be commending a dishonest steward for acting shrewdly. The steward is facing a huge transition in his own...

God is in control

Monday, March 12, 2018

Sometimes you need the reminder that God’s in control. That this crazy, fear-inducing, 24-hour-news-cycle world we live in isn’t our only reality. That guns and violence and hatred aren’t the only ways our children will experience school. That people will be known for...