A recurring topic of conversation with my traveling companion for this trip over the years has been what gives places that special feeling that, if it’s positive, we call ‘holy’ and, if it’s negative, we call ‘haunted’. It’s a feeling of otherness and strangeness in a place or person that is in more formal discourse … Continue reading Encountering the Holy
One of the things that always strikes me about travel is how you both need to plan ahead and fully expect those plans to go awry. The start of my trip was a great example of this. When I was planning the trip, I knew I was meeting the friend with whom I was traveling … Continue reading From A to B to C to D (or Best Laid Plans)
As I write this, I am freshly returned from a whirlwind of a week in the North of England. During this trip, I visited many locations deep in meaning, whether for reasons of faith, history, or beauty. So even though it was not a true pilgrimage, in that the whole trip was not spent to … Continue reading Thoughts on a Pilgrimage (of sorts)
After a few weeks ‘off’ talking about Jesus’ parables, today we return to regularly scheduled Sunday programming reflecting on the lectionary readings. But today’s Gospel reading acts as a nice bridge, since it connects to the conflicts and themes that instigated Jesus’ parables of grace in Luke 14 and following. It’s a story about the … Continue reading The Spirit of Control Versus the Spirit of Freedom: A Reflection on Luke 13.10-17
I was away last week on vacation, and you'll be hearing a lot more about that starting next week. But here's my pop-culture roundup for the past couple weeks, plus some thoughts on the wily and elusive 'pop boy'. Roundup Music While the announcement of the new Taylor Swift album has understandably taken up a … Continue reading Culture Roundup (August 23, 2025): Whither the ‘Pop Boy’?
