There is something melancholy, poignant, and utter recognizable in Vicki Feaver’s poem “Coat.” She names an experience that we have all had, or at least can imagine: giving up on someone we once loved from the desire to be free, only to discover that freedom can be pretty...
21. Mark 14:61b-64
posted by DJL
Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Jesus said, “I am; and ’you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’, and ‘coming with the clouds of heaven.’” Then the high priest tore his clothes and said,...
Word & Image
posted by DJL
Jim LePage is a graphic designer. He’s also a Christian who has tried, and failed, several times to read the whole Bible. His solution – marry his passion (visual design) and his desire (read the Bible) by coming up with a design for each book of the Bible. The result is rather...
20. Mark 14:60-61a
posted by DJL
Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Have you no answer? What is it that they testify against you?” But he was silent and did not answer. We like to think of the four Evangelists as something like a first-century Action News camera team, roving around...
What Will You Say “N...
posted by DJL
To get anything done, you have to be willing to say both “yes” and “no.” The “yes” is not just to a project or idea or request. If it’s important, then the “yes” is also to risk, to the unknown, to the possibility of failure. But once you say “yes” you also have to say...
19. Mark 14:53-59
posted by DJL
They took Jesus to the high priest; and all the chief priests, the elders, and the scribes were assembled. Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest; and he was sitting with the guards, warming himself at the fire. Now the chief priests and the whole council were looking for testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. For many gave false testimony against him, and their testimony did not agree. Some stood up and gave false testimony against him, saying, “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another, not made with...
Young Adult
posted by DJL
Young Adult, which becomes available on DVD today, is funny, at points very funny. But not funny in an uplifting or cute kind of way, like in a romantic comedy. More like funny awkward, funny embarrassing, funny a little painful at times. Mavis Gary (played by Charlize Theron), the young adult...
18. Mark 14:51-52
posted by DJL
A certain young man was following him, wearing nothing but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him, but he left the linen cloth and ran off naked. There has been a lot of speculation about the identity of this young man running naked from the scene of Jesus’ arrest. Some have wondered if this...
Was It a Sermon?
posted by DJL
A few weeks ago I was invited by a pastor to join him in a dialogue sermon. I’d never done that before, but I’m always talking about the need to experiment in our preaching and so figured it was time to put my money where my mouth was. We met ahead of time and talked through the contours of the biblical text appointed for that day and how it might lend itself to this kind of dialogue. While we worked through the major moves and anticipated turning points of the conversation, we left the content of the conversation largely unscripted. We also talked about the need to make sure we didn’t just talk about the text but proclaimed the Gospel...
17. Mark 14:47-50
posted by DJL
But one of those who stood near drew his sword and struck the slave of the high priest, cutting off his ear. Then Jesus said to them, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest me as though I were a bandit? Day after day I was with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest...
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