"All the world’s a stage, / And all the men and women merely players." These words of William Shakespeare from As You Like It capture well the feeling we all have from time to time that our lives are not our own — that we're all too often caught up in the deep behavioural ruts … Continue reading Jesus and the Problem of Performative Religion: A Reflection on Mark 12.38-44
Today, or I should say more properly tonight, is Halloween, the celebration of all that is macabre and ghoulish. It's hard to think of Halloween without envisioning ghosts, with all their associations of unfinished business, and unfilled longing. I'm reminded once again of the Buddhist notion of the 'hungry ghosts', an existential state where those … Continue reading Hunger and Feeding: A Reflection on Halloween and All Saints Day, Isaiah 25, and Sin and Salvation
The four Gospels all tell the story of Jesus in different ways: for Matthew Jesus is primarily a teacher, extending and enriching the Law; for Mark he is an apocalyptic figure, ushering in a new age (just don't tell anyone about it); for Luke he is a prophet with deep concern for the marginalized; and … Continue reading Sight to the Blind: A Reflection on Mark 10.46-52
Over the past few weeks, the Sunday Gospels have included some hard-hitting, at times difficult, teaching about sin, a focus which has also led to think more about sin in my new midweek series. Talking about sin is difficult, but even if we normalize talking about it and recognize that it's all around us, including … Continue reading Melchizedek: A Reflection on Hebrews 5.1-10
Over the past few weeks, the Sunday Gospel readings have taken a turn. The late Summer's general theme of opening up our hearts and minds to others has transitioned to the challenging specifics of what that looks like in practice. So far we've had warnings not to trip other people up and to take responsibility … Continue reading Money Problems: A Reflection on Mark 10.17-31
Matthew Root 