a prophetic voice-

Seems like it was only a few days ago that the world around me was a rich, verdant green. And then, suddenly, it was as if a delightfully capricious artistic Deity danced across the landscape, randomly scattering colors from the divine palette- reds, oranges, yellows, golds…creating a breathtakingly beautiful landscape, a reminder of the many ways the Creator manifests love to all creation, to all creatures.   And perhaps the only appropriate response- after our breath is restored- is to breaathe a heartfelt “Thank you.”

There is something so satisfying about going to bed totally tired, isn't there? Accompanied by the sense of tasks completed, of things being put in order, of the newness of fresh paint and old things cleared away, or simply re-ordered. It seems to put life into a different perspective, to renew an appreciation for what is, to bring a brightness and clarity which had been lacking somehow. This was my experience last evening as, bone-tired and aching, I stretched out on my comfortable bed at 8:30, preparing for a good night's rest. All week long the house had been disordered, disheveled, as painters performed their house magic, doing tasks which I was unable to perform myself- repairing ceiling cracks (the bane of old houses) and painting inside and out, here and there. My dining room had become the repository for items from my study while the painting was taking place and the upstairs hallway's photos and furniture had been relocated into the spare bedroom. Things were a m

Demons and hell and self-mutilation! This is the stuff of which our gospel reading today is made. In this reading, Jesus turns the spotlight on the disciples themselves, the story beginning with the disciples complaining to Jesus about a “rival” exorcist who was casting out demons “in Jesus’ name” and was apparently being successful, but who was clearly not one of “them”. Jesus, however, is not taken in by their gripes. Rather, he wants them to pay attention to their own behavior and where it will lead.   The first audience to receive the gospel of Mark were those in early Christian communities who were struggling in the midst of persecution, who were in conflict over Jewish-Gentile relations, and who were dealing with all of the growing pains of an infant church seeking identity and faithful witness. Christian groups disagreed with one another, contested each other’s claims, and even sought to censure one another, to decide who was “in” and who was “outside”.   It is within