A Positively Poetic Priest

Resurrection. Rebirth. Revitalization. Renewal. Regeneration. Restoration. Response. They all start with r-e, re. R-e is a Latin prefix, if you remember your high school language studies, you might remember that it means again or back. Adding re to a word gives a repetitive or returning feeling to the new word. And we see this at work in thinking about all those re- words. Even resurrection. Believing and participating in the resurrection implies a returning quality, being redeemed and returned to life, though this time life in God's kingdom. Luke's gospel gives us a window into an encounter in Jesus' life and it demands a response. The Sadducees bring what they think is a ridiculous question in their mind to Jesus, probably in order to poke fun at him. The Sadducees do not believe in any kind of resurrection, but the Pharisees do, so the Sadducees might be trying to see where Jesus lies in the religious politics of his day. It is almost like asking someone i...

Jeremiah proclaims that the day of the Lord is surely coming! Life will be different and everyone will be in relationship with God! His words are full of anticipation! Yet, that was twenty six hundred years ago. How long are we going to have to wait? The Bible tells us over and over again that the world is changing and that the world is going to change, that the kingdom of God is coming. Yet we wonder sometimes if it really will ever show up. Christian hope requires more than just faith, it requires Patience, Prayer, and Perseverance. Patience. Someone once said, “Knowing trees, I understand the meaning of patience.” 1 Jeremiah shares with us an exciting vision of the kingdom of God, but we have to have patience to believe in the vision while not seeing the evidence of its coming. The second letter to Timothy also speaks to the patience needed in waiting for the coming of the kingdom of God. We live in a culture which longs to have everyone’s needs and wants satisfied ins...