I want to begin my introductory editorial comments with the expression of much gratitude to all my predecessors, especially the most immediate, Rev. Dr. Jin Hee Han whose calm yet compelling call to me to …
Read the full story »
A little boy who held a sign that read “I MATTER” stood among a throng of protestors who were streaming down the highway, chanting “No Justice! No Peace!” This scene has played again and again …
Talking to Strangers: What We Should Know About The People We Don’t Know by Malcolm Gladwell. New York: Little, Brown and Company, 2019. 386pp. $17.58
New York Times bestselling author Malcolm Gladwell disarms our assumptions in a way that …
Carolyn B. Helsel. Preaching about Racism: A Guide for Faith Leaders. St. Louis: Chalice Press, 2018. 132pp. $33.95.
In 2020 many of us sense a nagging call to address racism from the pulpit. Unfortunately, we do not have …
The American dream is a big house in the suburbs, a white picket fence, 2.5 kids and an SUV in the driveway. The American dream is to make it all by yourself and owe nothing …
In mid-March, as news of the pandemic began sweeping our country, our congregation closed the doors of our building and began meeting online. Each week, I recorded three short videos to encourage our relatively aged …
In the early 1920s, something powerful was happening in Harlem, New York. In a period later esteemed the Harlem Renaissance, Harlem became a cultural mecca for African American literature, music, art, and intellectual thought.[i]Disillusioned by the failed promises of economic reconstruction and continued …
God-given dreams/visions
After these things the word of the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.”
—Gen. 15:1 [similarly, to Jacob at 31:11 and …
The nature of dreams
Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.
—Khalil Gibran
All that we see or seem is but a dream within a dream.
—Edgar Allan Poe
Hope is a waking dream.
—Aristotle
Why does …
Dear Friends,
Year 2019 presented many challenges to our ministry at The Living Pulpit. In the middle of the year, our website crashed, and it took a team of professionals and volunteers to have the site …
by Susan Converse
The telephone rings, piercing the silence of the night. You jump out of bed. Your heart is racing, and you pick up the phone. The voice on the other end tells you that …
by Jimmy Arthur Atkins
The Holy Bible offers a treasure chest of case studies and examples of leadership—good and bad. While there are many secular definitions of leadership, I distinguish …
by Albrecht Classen
I would like to be courageous, but I am timid. I would like to be strong, but I am weak. I would like to be virtuous, but there are too many shortcomings and …
Title: Fish on Fire
Artist: Piety Choi
Size: 40"x40"
Mixed Media on Wooden Panel
This painting is based on the story at the end of the gospel of John in which the risen Christ came to his disciples on the morning of his resurrection and broiled the fish for them. To the wooden panel I attached the actual pieces of burnt burlap fabric and used acryl paint to reproduce a scene of broiling. While the Johannine passage is commonly understood as the risen Christ telling the world that he has risen and has returned to provide hope as well as hope-filled nourishment, I remember that fire also has the cleansing power of the fire of the Holy Spirit. According to other gospel traditions, Peter had denied Jesus three times. Jesus’ feeding of his disciples with the fish by the sea of Tiberias, however, has no trace of condemnation. In this scene, Jesus said to Peter, “Do you love me?” Jesus then asked Peter to tend his sheep. Divine justice might call to mind fire as punishment, but I cherish the power of the Lord’s fire that cleanses our soul from the stains of sin. There I see the path to renewal and new life.
If you would like to submit an article or book review for The Living Pulpit, email us at editor@pulpit.org.
The Living Pulpit (eISSN 1946-1771) is published quarterly by The Living Pulpit, Inc., 475 Riverside Drive Suite 500, New York, NY 10115, USA. Copyright © by The Living Pulpit, Inc. All rights reserved.
