I always take the Gospel whenever it's possible but only with a grain of salt. — George Gershwin, Porgy and Bess
Invocation. “I was blinded by the devil, / Born already ruined, / Stone-cold dead / As I stepped out of the womb. / By His grace I have been touched, / By His word I have been healed, / By His hand I've been delivered, / By His spirit I've been sealed.” —“Saved,” Bob Dylan
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Methodism’s founder John Wesley, an Anglican priest, was born on 28 June 1703.
Read more ›Ken Sehested
Text: Luke 24:44-53
12 May 2024, Circle of Mercy Congregation, Asheville, NC
Invocation. “People killin’, people dyin’ / Children hurt and you hear them cryin’ / Can you practice what you preach / And would you turn the other cheek.” —Black Eyed Peas, “#WHEREISTHELOVE”
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Read more ›by Ken Sehested
The lectionary psalm for Pentecost Sunday (104:24-34, 35b) omits the wrathful premise (35a) of the final verse, which reads: “Let sinners be consumed from the earth, and let the wicked be no more.” Only then does the latter half of the verse return to proprietous devotion: “Bless the Lord, O my soul. Praise the Lord!”
I’m guessing the lectioners omitted that appeal for fear of inciting unruly discontent within the temple of pious obeisance and prudent civility.
Read more ›Ken Sehested
As I write, the fifth day of Eastertide (which began on Easter eve ending 50 days later on Pentecost Sunday) draws close. As does the moment in 1968 when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated while standing just outside his Lorraine Hotel’s second floor room in Memphis, Tennessee.
It was 6:01 p.m. CST. The fourth of April. Barely a half-century ago. He was 39 years old.
Read more ›Ken Sehested
Invocation. “Rainbow ‘Round My Shoulder (traditional chain gang song),” One Voice Mixed Chorus in remembrance of Bayard Rustin, the least-known-most-important civil rights leader.
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Read more ›Ken Sehested
Invocation. “Give Me a Clean Heart.” —James Cleveland & the Southern California Community Choir
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Read more ›Introduction: On the proximity of the International Women’s Day (8 March 2024) and the cusp of Ramadan (10 March 2024 sundown, a month-long ascetically devotional observance commemorating the initial revelation to the Prophet Muhammad in 610 CE, later named the Noble Qur’an)
Little is known about the 8th century CE Islamic poet and mystic often named simply as Rabia of Basri (a city/region in what is now southern Iraq). But her stature as one of the first saints in Islam is unquestioned, especially among Muslims who identify with the more mystical tradition of Sufism. The quote below which addresses (without naming) Allah (the Arabic word for God) as “eternal beauty” is a striking feature of mystical traditions of all sorts:
“If I adore You out of fear of hell, burn me in hell. / If I adore You out of desire for paradise, lock me out of paradise. / But if I adore You alone, do not deny to me Your eternal beauty.”
Read more ›Ken Sehested
Invocation. “Psalm 51,” Choir of St. Simon the Leper, Republic of Georgia (sung in Aramaic)
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Read more ›Invocation. "The First Noel," Leslie Odom Jr. ft. PS22 Chorus
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Implausibly, and over the decades, my consistent experience is that when I dare venture into war zones and places of serious social conflict, I find people you would think should just give in, give out, give over their futures to those with greedy hearts and malevolent hands.
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