Sketch by Patrick Murphy This is why the Father loves Me, because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it…
Tag: Jesus
Death!
Image from Lord of the Rings: Return of the King I love the book and movie series, Lord of the Rings. LOTR’s author, JRR Tolkien, was Catholic. The world of LOTR is deeply imbued with Christian realities. One of my favorite moments occurs in the third installment, Return of the King. A hoarde of orcs and other…
Down the Drain
When I wrote the following poem, I was still VERY non-Christian. One day I sat thinking about how arrogant it was for Christians to say they knew THE Truth. I remembered Jesus’s words: “I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). More arrogance. But then (courtesy of the Holy Spirit, I’m sure) a thought…
Hypocrite!!
Tommy Lee Jones as Two-Face It’s not unusual to hear people level the charge of “hypocrite” at Christians. Usually, this happens during debates about moral issues or the existence of God or any other time it seems convenient. Almost no one cares about logical fallacies in this day and age. At the risk of irrelevance,…
Hospice, not a Hospital
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’ve been reading Pope Francis’s Papal Encyclical, “Care for Our Common Home.” The Pope focuses a lot of attention on curbing human problems–especially climate change and poverty–through public policy shifts. He is certainly not alone in this. It is not unusual to hear Christians calling for systemic shifts…
Don’t Tread on Me (Part 2)
Please read Part One before continuing… Societal unforgiveness is further tightening its coils through microagression theory. Dr. Derald Wing Sue says, “Microaggressions are the everyday verbal, non-verbal, and environmental slights, snubs, or insults, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon their marginalized group membership.” Sue…
Hymne to God the Father
Sketch by Patrick Murphy Hymne to God the Father Before time your counsels chose that you would lose eternal ties with your one and only Son. Not sparing Him, you let the whips fall and the blood drip. Judges condemned as the priests quipped. On a dark hill, like Abraham, you left your Lamb. No bright…
The Holy Pigeon
Years ago, when I read about the Holy Spirit descending on Jesus during His baptism, I imagined it like this: A sparkling white dove wreathed in sunbeams came down through the clouds at escalator speed, wings flashing up and down in slow motion. It was a glorious, calendar-worthy, photo-op moment. All of that changed one…
Caitlyn, MacBeth, and the Baboons
Bruce Jenner is now calling himself Caitlyn. (Will that get you on a Wheaties box these days?) Gay marriage bells ring the world over. (If you don’t embrace this change, don’t ask for whom the bell tolls. It tolls for thee). Wealthy politicians use class warfare lingo to exploit voters. (“I’m on your side. It’s…
Limping Along
Therefore, no condemnation now exists for those in Christ Jesus, because the Spirit’s law of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death. What the law could not do since it was limited by the flesh, God did. He condemned sin in the flesh by sending His Son…
The Voice of One 