On Sept. 13, the 15th Sunday after Pentecost on the church calendar, my sermon at St. John the Evangelist in Newport, RI, was framed around the day’s gospel, Matthew 18: 21-35. Here’s the passage, from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible: Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another ...
You don’t need a Ph.D. in ethno-botany from Harvard and have authored a dozen deep-think books to know that problems in our country runneth over. Being a Brainiac would help, though, if you had to boil down what ails us in one cogent essay. I couldn’t possibly do it, but I think I’ve found someone ...
I wake up most mornings thinking of ways to escape, even if just for a while, the distressing reality of life in America today. Many of you may also be looking for respite, given the daily onrush of alarming news. I cope by immersing myself in activities that bring both peace and a sense of ...
Earlier this week I noticed a Facebook post from Lee McAden Robinson. Lee is the elder sister of Fitz McAden, who edits this blog. I’ve known them both all my life. Lee’s post had the catchy caption, “This woman is the devil incarnate” above a picture of our Secretary of Education, Betsy DeVos. I commented ...
I’ve spoken about patriotism in two past sermons that coincided with the Fourth of July, one five years ago and the other the next year. Here are links to both, which were delivered at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Newport, RI: https://thequixoticdeacon.com/sermon/christian-patriotism-originally-july-5th-2015/ https://thequixoticdeacon.com/sermon/christian-patriotism-part-two-originally-july-5-2016/ Because we’ve experienced so much social ...
Note from Buck: this mini post has not been edited by Fitz! So all poor grammar, syntax, etc. are not his fault. Today, when I woke up I realized I had completed 70 years of life. It was a serious realization but a happy one. And, as happy as I am to have survived 7 ...
Ecclesiastes 9: 11-18 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favour to the skillful; but time and chance happen to them all. For no one can anticipate the time of disaster. ...
There are many good reasons not to sit down and write when you are extremely frustrated and angry. But this is my release, so I’m ignoring all those reasons to hold back and going ahead to spill my guts here on June 2, 2020. Last evening all the damage that Trump is doing ...
Earlier this week, my wife Lucy called my attention to an opinion piece in The New York Times many of you might have seen. The writer was Dr. Sabrina Strings, an African-American associate professor of sociology at the University of California-Irvine. She recalled attending a meeting five years ago with experts on public health and ...
On Saturday May 9, I was writing in my journal about depression. No, not about clinical depression. Rather, about the gnawing depression caused by contemplating the future of our country if we don’t vote out Republicans in November. Each day’s news brings more evidence of what’s at stake as long as Republicans hold power ...
