by jakeowensby | Sep 24, 2022 | God's love, Human Dignity, Luke 16:19-31, Respect
Eavesdropping is impolite. But sometimes you can’t help overhearing somebody else’s conversation. Waiting for a flight from Atlanta to Chicago, I was sitting across from a man in his early twenties. He was talking on his cell phone. Loudly. About his mother. “What a...
by jakeowensby | Aug 26, 2022 | Being Human, Luke 14:1, 7-14
For millions of his fans Bruce Springsteen was, and maybe still is, The Boss. A mega-celebrity. He’s a world-renowned performer with countless hits. Many of his songs are considered rock classics. To his kids? Bruce and his wife Patti Scialfa are just the parents....
by jakeowensby | Oct 14, 2021 | Mark 10:35-45
When I was 23 I underwent a six-hour surgery. The physician harvested skin and muscle from my throat and from the sides of my mouth. He used that tissue to construct what is called a pharyngeal flap, a kind of artificial soft palate. You see, I was born without the...
by jakeowensby | Sep 24, 2021 | Mark 9:38-50
My four-year-old granddaughter’s disability restricts her mobility, limits her manual dexterity, affects how she communicates, and leaves her legally blind. None of this diminishes my affection for her. She makes me smile and warms my heart. As people like to say...
by jakeowensby | Dec 26, 2020 | John 1:1-18
Some years ago my friend Emile and I were driving back to Huntsville from a monthly clergy lunch in another part of northern Alabama. Emile had retired a decade or so earlier. My colleagues and I admired and adored Emile as our wise and nurturing elder. And he seemed...
