by jakeowensby | Jan 31, 2020 | grace, Luke 2:22-40
Fear is your friend. At least, fear can be your friend. That’s because fear has something vital to teach us. As Pema Chodron says, “Fear is a natural reaction to moving closer to the truth.” (When Things Fall Apart, p. 5) Christians frequently believe that fear is the...
by jakeowensby | Nov 16, 2018 | Uncategorized
In 2017 pollsters asked Americans what we feared most. Apparently, spiders did not make the list. In my book, that proves that Americans lie. Dying barely made the top 50, trailing fear of reptiles (ranked 44) and sharks (41). Pollution of the air, of drinking water,...
by jakeowensby | Jun 9, 2018 | Proper 5 B
Looking down the dimly lit hallway, I saw what appeared to be gouges in our darkly stained floor. Concerned that the floor had been damaged somehow, I drew closer to get a better look. Lying motionless, the snake had remained invisible. My eyes had registered its...
by jakeowensby | Dec 1, 2017 | 1 Advent B, Mark 13:24-37
A friend of mine and I were chatting over lunch. Professional topics had occupied us for about half an hour, but once the business was done our conversation took a theological turn. My friend asked, “Do you think the end is near?” Civil unrest, escalating violence,...
by jakeowensby | Jun 17, 2016 | Non-Violence, Uncategorized
Looking back on it now, the 1973 movie “The Exorcist” is laughably cheesy. Even if you haven’t seen the movie, you probably know the story. A demon possesses a twelve-year-old girl named Regan. Under demonic control Regan spews pea green projectile vomit on a priest,...
