Look Into the Light

Each week I get a reminder that it is time to write another blog post. And as you can tell, I have been ignoring that reminder. I kept thinking that I didn't have anything to say. But the truth of the matter is that I wasn't taking the time to slow down and be still with my thoughts enough to write.

Today is different.

Looking at the marjoram plant that I brought inside from the cool weather, I noticed how it is turning toward the light. And then I said, "Why can't we be like plants and turn toward the light, no matter how dim?"

Usually we complain about how dark it is. When we do so, we fail to notice the light breaking up the darkness. Christ is our light--Shining through ALL darkness. Christ's light is so strong, darkness cannot overcome it. So let's look into the light. Let's turn toward Christ.
No matter what is going on in our lives, let's be like plants that reach for the light.
No matter which way they are positioned, plants turn toward the light.

Luke Cage: Superhero of Hope

What can the new Netflix Original, Luke Cage, offer the Black Community?

HOPE.

Netflix has chosen to bring to life yet another Marvel comic book hero and he is Black and bulletproof. What does that mean? What can it mean to millions of Black people who are watching Black men murdered by bullets?

HOPE.

Imagine my surprise when I discovered that Luke Cage is not a new Marvel superhero. No, Luke Cage has been around since about 1972. Yup. Quite awhile. Yet the timing of bringing him to life on the small screen should not be overlooked. Is Netflix really interested in telling positive stories about Black men? I really don't know. What I do know is that the show offers a message of HOPE to all of us. The writer(s) of the show provide us with some talking points that should help us at "the table".

HOPE.

Black Lives indeed Matter. Just take a closer look underneath your surface and you will find Black Lives Matter there, for you are not existing without Black Lives. I am not existing without Black Lives. We are not existing without Black Lives. Take a closer look underneath your surface and discover your true humanity.

Luke Cage: Superhero of Hope invites us to the world of bulletproof Black men--protected by the armor of God and covered in the Blood of Jesus.

Celebrating Preaching

I have been saying since this year began that 2016 is the year I celebrate 20 years of preaching. Guess what I discovered today? It's really been 21 years. Hahahahaha! Did I have a plan to celebrate this anniversary? I did want to do something and God made it happen: I am preaching Sunday, 25 September 2016 in the church I first preached in 21 years ago. What a feeling!!! To look back over 21 years of preaching God's Word, I am struck once again by God's AMAZING GRACE. I have had the privilege of being a vessel for the Holy Spirit to enter in and write sermons that challenge not only the hearers, but also me the writer. I have grown in such a way that I find surprising.

God REALLY loves us. And if we open ourselves to God, AMAZING things happen. We grow in such a way that makes us want to tell the world.

Are you telling the world?

No? Attune yourself to the ways God wants you to tell the world.
Yes? Continue to celebrate our God,  allowing God to stretch you.


I never thought I would be someone who proclaims God's Word. And I must say, the more God puts me in uncomfortable situations, the happier I am. The more peaceful I am. The more grateful I am.

I will be celebrating 21 years of preaching by preaching where I started, St. Elizabeth Catholic Church.

EYE WITNESS

“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” John 12:27-28a

The above text is my inspiration for my sermon this Sunday at Faith Community MB Church. This is a difficult text for me as I watch too many videos of police murders of Black people. These videos don't have actors in them. These videos are the eye witnesses to crimes perpetrated against Black bodies. These videos, recording crimes against Black people, water down the meaning of eye witness. When I was growing up, eye witness was important. It meant something. When someone stepped forward to say that they witnessed something action was taken based on their word. Now, with video proof, no action is taken. 

What the hell???!!!!

“Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” John 12:27-28a

As a follower of Christ, I am looking at the reason I have come to this hour. What is my purpose now that my soul is troubled? What LORD? 

Glorifying God calls for all eye witnesses to God's goodness, grace and mercy to start praising God right now!!

Now, pressed down by our wanderings in the wilderness, we need to stand and PRAISE GOD!!! We need a rally that reawakens the HOLY SPIRIT within us, so that we can demand justice. We don't have time anymore for petty he said/she said things. Lives are being murdered and too many of us Christians are not raising God's praise. 

Eye Witness, if you know the glory of God in your life, WITNESS.

Embracing Limits

I like to think of myself as a fixer. Not of objects, but people. Now surely I know that I can't "fix" anyone, but I like to think that by listening I offer paths that help people "fix" their situation.

But there are limits. Limits that I don't always want to embrace. I want to "fix"it. I know that experience is the best teacher, yet I still try to help people avoid the pain, the sadness, the heartache, the disappointment.

Fixers, at least this fixer, use storytelling to help them explain situations better. Don't you just love a good story? Don't you find it easy to sink right into the story?

Your story helps me find my way in my story. But there are limits.

Sometimes, no matter how many stories I tell, the person just doesn't understand what I'm saying. That's when I have to step back and embrace my limitations. That's when I see so clearly that God has marked out different steps.
                                        And it won't be me getting in the way of God's ordering!!

Where is your labyrinth taking you?