by jakeowensby | Aug 11, 2023 | Matthew 15:21-28, Proper 15 A
When my daughter was diagnosed with autism, I had a few choice words for God. On a long evening walk under the stars, I railed at the unfairness of it all. At God’s unfairness. “Honestly, the kid’s barely out of preschool and she’s already undergone open heart...
by jakeowensby | Sep 3, 2021 | Mark 7:24-37
“Would it kill you to give us a break here?” That’s what a prayer for help can sound like when we’re raw with fatigue. It’s a little edgy. Maybe not so pious-sounding. But there’s an honesty and sincerity about it. It’s the earnest prayer of the overwhelmed. It’s...
by jakeowensby | Feb 26, 2020 | Uncategorized
We all hide. To one degree or another, we conceal things about ourselves from other people and obscure things about ourselves that we cannot bear to face. That’s one of the peculiar things about humans. We frequently wear masks because we think we have to. We pretend...
by jakeowensby | Oct 25, 2019 | Luke 18:9-14
My clerical collar, black shirt, and black suit were drawing discrete glances. I had slipped away from the church office to get some cold medicine at a nearby drug store. The checkout line turned out to be unexpectedly long. A man standing in front of me looked over...
by jakeowensby | Feb 16, 2018 | 1 Lent B, Genesis 9:8-17
On Wednesday seventeen people were killed by a gunman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Three adults. Fourteen teenagers. The assault rifle-wielding killer is nineteen. In addition to being Ash Wednesday, it was Valentine’s Day. The...
