All posts filed under: sin

Good Friday, a reflection

April 14, 2014
by rick
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Christology / devil / Easter / Gospels / Holy Week / Jesus / Lectionary / Lent / New Testament / satan / sin / Theology / Year A

I have this wonderful painting hanging in my office, “Cimabue after Disney” by the Rev. Dr. Dennis McNally, SJ. Jesus is muscled, teary-eyed, and dead. Blood trickles down his hands and feet. He’s also naked, and exposed just enough that that’s the one thing people notice when they see it for the first time. Subtly, at the bottom of the painting is a less-known feature. A mouse, with a dark halo, lapping up some of […]

last epiphany a: overcome with fear

February 19, 2014
by rick
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Gospels / Jesus / Lectionary / New Testament / Religion / sin / temptation / Year A

The mission of the Church is to be a vessel where transformation can happen. Where lives may be changed by the Presence of God. Where people are reconciled to God in Christ, and to each other as neighbors. That transformation isn’t a small thing. It’s not a fresh coat of paint. It’s not even an upgraded operating system. It’s metamorphosis. It’s wholesale change. From the bottom up. From the inside out. And, to be honest…it’s […]

holy arrogance – a reflection on Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32

March 1, 2013
by rick
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Gospels / Jesus / Lectionary / Lent / New Testament / sin / Year C

The following is a reflection on Luke 15:1-3, 11b-32, the Gospel lesson for Lent 4C, according to the Revised Common Lectionary. There is an arrogance that comes with believing and proclaiming that God – the God who created the heavens and the earth—loves us. It’s arrogant. I mean, it’s true. In the fullest and most wonderful sense, it’s true. But, it’s arrogance. A holy arrogance.