by jakeowensby | Dec 20, 2019 | Luke 2:1-20
God was born. Just let that sink in. The architect of galaxies and protons, the maker of hard iron and tender flesh, the infinite, all-powerful source from which all things come to be and upon which the entire cosmos depends, became a human. And God did it just like...
by jakeowensby | Apr 19, 2019 | Easter, John 20:1-8
As she approached in the predawn gloom, Mary Magdalene realized that something or someone had rolled away the stone sealing Jesus’s tomb. Without investigating further, she hurried back to the disciples to report what she had seen. Peter and John raced to see for...
by jakeowensby | Jan 18, 2019 | John 2:1-11
During our first year of marriage, Joy and I studied at the Ruhr University in Germany. We were part of a large, diverse foreign-student population. Men and women from Iran, Iraq, Argentina, Ethiopia, and Japan majored in engineering, computer programming, literature,...
by jakeowensby | Jan 4, 2019 | Matthew 2:1-12
My dog Gracie frequently holds my gaze for several moments at a time. She peers directly into my eyes. Researchers have found that extended eye contact between dog and companion affects the secretion of oxytocin. Oxytocin is a hormone that regulates neural...
by jakeowensby | Mar 3, 2018 | 4 Easter A, Exodus 20:1-17, grace, Lent 3 B
A gestalt shift is a visual switch of perspective. While looking at an unchanging image we see first one thing and then another. For instance, in the picture below you can see a duck. Or a rabbit. Or a duck: Another familiar example of gestalt shifts is the vase or...
