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Lion Running
I stole a moment to go running today. Twenty whole minutes, in fact. This morning as I anxiously reviewed my to-do list I decided my workout had to get skipped. Then, to my surprise, my work went so smoothly and at such a fast clip that an unexpected window of time appeared, and I jumped…
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Do Not Be Your Fear–A Christmas Message
What follows is my sermon from Monmouth College’s Christmas Convocation on December 10th, 2013. I’m going to begin today with things I am afraid of. It’s sort of a random list, but here we go. I am afraid of: Change Global Warming Snakes and Large Spiders Faculty I am afraid of: Deep Water Rejection Speaking…
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Quiet
My husband was the first to disturb Her. He loped around the house, snored in great huffs at night, captured me in conversation at the dinner table. As my marriage unfolded, She sulked in the corner of my life, moody and listless, still catching snatches of time over a morning cup of coffee or after…
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A Persistent Faith
When I first read this Gospel text from Luke it felt really false. After Jesus tells a parable about a widow who gets justice by continually asking, continually pestering an unjust judge, we get this summary statement about God from Jesus: “Will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry to him day…
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Foolishness of Faith
“We are fools for the sake of Christ” 1 Corinthians 4:10 I oftentimes find myself struggling with the foolishness of the Gospel. I want to be faithful, but I also want to be responsible and reasonable. In the Spring of 2006 I got completely engrossed in the news about a hostage crisis in Iraq. Four…
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Death of a Preacher
The grandson’s voice was hesitant on the phone. He was calling on behalf of his grandmother who expected her preacher husband to be buried in the quiet cemetery behind the first church he had served decades ago. I was the pastor now. Perhaps the widow assumed I was younger and less experienced than I looked. …
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Stuck in Sheol, the Place of the Dead
Two Sundays ago we had fifty-five students come over to our college’s Presbyterian House for our first program of the year. It was great. We made ice cream sundaes, sat around in the grass, and listened to live music. After a little while, I led a brief devotion. To match the casual tone of the…
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Bored in Church
Because I serve as the chaplain of a college, I travel a lot to preach in a variety of churches. When I stand in the pulpit and look out over these congregations, I see a lot of people looking at me like this: My college students have this look perfected. I can be preaching…
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about remembering
I remember getting out of bed in the morning to muscles that didn’t ache and joints that did not crack and pop. I remember being able to see without the thick-lensed glasses I fumble for on my bed stand. I remember not needing a minute to loosen up, my feet screaming from their heel spurs,…
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about Marie Howe
I was introduced to the poetry of Marie Howe this summer. Last week, on a whim, I ordered all three of her books. When they arrived in the mail I stayed up late to read each book cover to cover. I highly recommend each to you: The Good Thief, What the Living Do, The Kingdom…
Teri McDowell Ott 