Posts from the Blog of an (un)Tamed Cynic
This week marks the 10 year anniversary of the US-led invasion of Iraq and President Obama’s first presidential visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories. The synchronicity of these events has no doubt influenced the following reflection. For the better part of a decade, the Presbyterian Church (USA)—and other mainline Protestant denominations—has publicly debated various [...]
“Abraham lived to the age of 175. Abraham took his last breath and died after a good long life, a content old man, and he was placed with his ancestors. His sons Isaac and Ishmael buried him in the cave in Machpelah, which is in the field of Zohar’s son Ephron the Hittite, near Mamre. [...]
This is my sermon from Sunday’s jazz worship at Fourth Church. It shares some themes with my morning sermon, which I posted yesterday. Sins of Our Fathers and Mothers Genesis 37:1-36 August 14, 2011—4:00 Worship Fourth Presbyterian Church Today we are continuing our sermon series on the Book of Genesis by transitioning from the story [...]
Already, on this second day of being back in Israel, I’m realizing that this trip won’t just be a revisiting of a special time from my past. My experience so far has been very much in the present moment. I am a different person than I was 13 years ago. Now I am a pastor [...]
Today I arrived back in Israel for the first time since the summer of 1998, which marked the end of a full year of living and studying in Jerusalem at Hebrew University. This time around I’m co-leading an inter-generational group of pilgrims from Fourth Church. We are here to explore biblical, historical, and religious sites [...]
