What follows began as a sermon but has been reworked into an essay on St. Paul’s letter to the Galatians, specifically focusing on Chapter 4:1-20, which I believe to be not only the heart of the letter, but also, following the lead of Professor Brigitte Kahl, the exegetical key to the letter. This essay will attempt to outline and reflect on this Biblical text utilizing the insights laid out in Dr. Kahl’s masterful book, “Galatians Re-Imagined: Reading With the Eyes of the Vanquished.” Her work shifts the focus of Paul’s critique of “works of the law” away from the traditional negative assessm ..read more

Last night I watched an amazing production of Rossini's final opera - William Tell - from the Rossini Festival in Pesaro with Juan Diego Flores as Arnold and Nicola Alaimo as Tell. It was amazing. A beautiful production and beautifully sung. But what struck me is that this work from the early part of the 19th century and like many works from a variety of writers, composers and artists it deals with issues of liberty and freedom. The Swiss, in this case, are oppressed by the Austrians and (spoiler alert) after the famous incident where Tell shoots the apple off of his son's head the Austrians a ..read more

I want to make a comment about the apocalyptic references that have been appearing in the news lately. But politicians (mostly on the hard right) and certain (so-called) Christian "Leaders" like to trot out their version of the apocalyptic story which they claim is from the Bible, but really isn't. Apparently some of these folks are simply thrilled whenever we are appear to be hurtling towards war in the middle east, since, in their mind, this means we can prompt or push God to initiate "Armegedon," the "Rapture" and "Jesus 2nd coming." So where to begin. I'll try to make it concise: 1. You ca ..read more

I want to make a comment about the apocalyptic references that have been appearing in the news lately - mostly as quotes from an interview given by Mike Pompeo and some of the reaction to his comments by evangelical leaders. Apparently some of these folks are simply thrilled that we are hurtling towards war in the middle east with Iran since, in their mind, this means we can prompt or push God to initiate "Armegedon" the "Rapture" and "Jesus 2nd coming." So where to begin. I'll try to make it concise: 1. You cannot push God into action. All you need to do is look at a little history to see tha ..read more

Once more I have had the unpleasant experience of having to listen to a "pastor" expound on the John 14 text in a way which focuses exclusively on "what we get when we get to heaven." Central to this position is the insistence that "you better believe in Jesus - have a personal relationship with Jesus" or else you won't be getting one of those nice mansions." This is not the Gospel and it is not what this text is saying. In fact I find this approach to funeral sermons to be reprehensible as it subjects vulnerable and grieving men and women to a manipulative religious diatribe which is totally ..read more

Introduction: The opportunity to travel presented itself and I signed on for a trip that was entitled, “In the Footsteps of Paul.” Initially the name did not put me off. I have seen ads for other trips to this part of the world with this title. I presumed, correctly as it turned out, that the trip would focus on the so-called missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul, as laid out in the book of Acts. The trip would also provide opportunities for visiting other sites that would provide an immersive experience in the ancient world. Sounds great! After a little thought I signed up. While I think th ..read more

(Pr. Duncan wrote this in response to a question about the understanding of prayer is for a Christian believer): First of all, how we think of prayer is directly related to our understanding of God. If we see God as a "Santa Claus" or a Vending Machine or a Master Puppeteer or a distant omniscient God then it will affect how we shape our prayer life. I am not being flip. The fact is that way too many have such very limited and one dimensional understandings of God / Jesus. But God transcends all of our imagination and part of the challenge is for us to discard our way too simple ways of unders ..read more

This past Sunday the lesson appointed was the Parable of the "Good Samaritan" from Luke 10. In my sermon I went through some of the basics, first about Parables in General: 1. They are all Parables of the Kingdom of God - they reflect God's Kingdom, which is why so many of them are about radical forgiveness, acceptance and grace. 2. They are about God - they are not morality tales for us. 3. They are an invitation for those of us who have been baptized and have been called to be citizen's of the Kingdom. How are we to live? How are we to relate to others - well, A man had two sons..." "A man w ..read more

What is healing?  Why do we do a “healing” liturgy on the 5thSunday of the month?  Are we offering “cure?”  No, God has given us the gift of medical science to help us find cures. So then what is the “healing” that our liturgy offers us from God through Christ? It is easy to mix up those two words – healing and cure.  Our culture tends to understand “healing” as “cure,” and “cure” as “healing.”  Cure and healing are interchangeable in our society.  We go to the doctor for a cure in hopes that we will be healed of whatever ails us.  We come to church and experience a liturgy of healing in hopes ..read more

Day #2 - the official tour did not begin until the afternoon so in the morning I toured alone and walked from the hotel to the Hagia Sofia, at the time it was built it was the largest church in all of Christendom. Later after the city fell in 1453 it was converted to a Mosque. Today it is a museum. I did not go in. That will be tomorrow. But I also saw the Blue Mosque, the Hippodrome, German Fountain, Suiliman’s Harem, and the Grand Bazaar. In the afternoon I met up with the tour and we took a boat ride on the Bosphorus. Istanbul is divided by the river. On one side is the new city (after 1453 ..read more