by jakeowensby | Jun 16, 2023 | Courage, Matthew 10:24-39, Proper 7 A
To speak normally—to make intelligible sounds that other people could understand—I had to undergo two lengthy surgeries. The first happened when I was just a toddler. There’s not much I can tell you about that one. I have no memory of it at all. The second time around...
by jakeowensby | May 6, 2022 | Psalm 23
He was pointing a pistol at her. I stepped in between him and my mom. The gun was now aimed at me. I calmly told my father, “Don’t kill my mother.” I was ten years old. As I look back on that night from the distance of more than five decades, I’m still sort of...
by jakeowensby | Apr 15, 2022 | John 20:1-18
Ruth was hustling her two girls out the door so they wouldn’t be late for school. That’s when she noticed that her pants were too big. Way too big. They kept sliding off her hips. So she cinched up her belt and slid into the minivan. Those sagging pants plagued Ruth’s...
by jakeowensby | Mar 11, 2022 | Luke 13:31-35
To speak normally—to make intelligible sounds that other people could understand—I had to undergo two lengthy surgeries. The first happened when I was just a toddler. There’s not much I can tell you about that one. I have no memory of it at all. The second time around...
by jakeowensby | Aug 6, 2021 | Uncategorized
Not long ago my friend F- received a terminal diagnosis. He didn’t know very much about his disease, so he went to the library and checked out a medical book about it. On his way home he stopped by one of those oil change places. The attendant who drove his car into...
by jakeowensby | Jul 10, 2020 | Matthew 13:1-9
Believe it or not, there is some illusory glamor attached to being a perfectionist. That’s why I misdiagnosed myself as one for many years. You see, despite the misery and exhaustion that can accompany perfectionism, our culture nevertheless still whispers to us that...
