One of my favorite scenes from The Lord of the Rings is when Gandalf heals King Theoden from Saruman’s possession. This is such an awesome scene of healing. At one point, the possessed King Theoden says to Gandalf, “If I go, Theoden dies.”
And that’s precisely what we see in the gospel today. The demon spirit tells Jesus, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us?” We say that to Jesus. Jesus, if you get too close to me, if I get holy, are you going to take away who I am? Jesus, if you get close, am I just going to become a Jesus freak? The closer Jesus gets to us, the more we are healed and the more we become fully alive. If there’s any fear that I will be less of myself with Jesus, reject it. Stay close to the Lord, and you will become a saint, fully alive.
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Embracing Shame
Defensiveness, denial, rationalization, avoidance. What do these things have in common? It’s what we do when we avoid shame. None of us like to experience shame. None of us like to experience suffering. And we love to avoid. We love to deny. We love to distract ourselves because shame does not feel good. Here is the gospel, though, where Saint Peter does the same thing. He tells Jesus…
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God is a Just God
The Gospel for this Sunday is all about the judge. You know who is a bad judge? Scarecrow from “The Dark Knight Rises.” Scarecrow is one of the villains who presides over a kangaroo court, condemning the aristocracy to death. And he gives them two options, either death or exile. And both of those options lead to death…
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Making and Breaking Plans
Raise your hand if you have made plans and then canceled them at the last minute for no apparent reason. Millennials and Gen-Zers, are notorious for making plans and then canceling them. Because there is something within us that believes that what I say and promise doesn’t matter and doesn’t hold weight. We can get into…
