I am still unaccustomed to the spring sun shining down in February after so many years of snow on snow,nor have I grown to graspwhat is already growingin our yard: gentle shootsof promise, tree buds oftenacity, but I do know enough to dig and clear,to rake and remulch,to prune and prepare . . .and then…

I preached this morning, using part of the same passage Ginger preached from last week. (The sermon is in the previous post.) A sermon and a sonnet in the same day is hard work. We read the same passage in church todayas last week — about loving enemies and turning cheeks when violence aims our…

“What Love Looks Like”Matthew 5:38-48A Sermon for Pilgrim United Church of Christby Milton Brasher-CunninghamFebruary 20, 2011 In these weeks leading up to Lent, we have been traveling through the Sermon on the Mount, as it has been called down through Christian history. Early in Jesus’ ministry, it seems, he stood in front of a large…

“Where do allergies go when it’s after the show and they want to find something to eat?” — Paul Simon, “Allergies” allergies as best I understandthe reason my eyesare red and puffyand my nose stuffyis my body is tryingto protect me frombad things in the aira knee-jerk responseshutting down myair ways and blurringmy vision as…

The text today was Matthew 5:38-48; we also reread the beatitude, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. “Peacemaking is rarely peaceful,” Ginger said, “logic, faith, and reason have to be invited into our hearts.” To live each day in faithfulness as I walk upon this sodMeans I must…

in the music of lifelove is the drumthe big bass drum thatresonates in your breast bonethrough every movement of griefthe tremulous tympanic tonesin the symphonies of sadnessthe steadying rhythm duringthe frantic choruses of fearthe hope of the high hatin the gentle jazz of joythe tender tap behindthe waltz of wonderin the music of lifelove is…

The blind man Bartimaeus, who sat begging at the gate,Knew Jesus soon was headed out of town,So he called out in hope that Jesus’ exodus could waitLong enough to shed some sight around. The disciples huffed a bit and told him to sit tight,But Bart kept on with what he had to tellTill he got…

I turned down a job last week. I was surprised, actually. The position was Chef and Kitchen Manager for a local shelter that serves about 650 people a day. I would have had a chance for my careers as minister, chef, and teacher to integrate in a way I have not experienced. I even went…

today I am remindedlife’s a poem andeverything rhymes with thank you Peace,Milton

After reading the Beatitudes and hearing Ginger’s sermon this morning, I’m reminded that “happy” and “blessed” are not synonyms. Blessed are the protesters that fill Egyptian streets,for soon they’ll know whose promise they can trust;blessed are the shelterless who stand in line to eat.and are told to make a meal of a crust. Blessed are…