Does God exist outside of us?  That would depend on the definition of probably every word in that question.  Without doing that, let me rephrase the question…”Where do we experience God?”  Or maybe even more to the point, “How do we experience God?” …

Today’s Gospel selection (Mt 11:11-15) may seem a bit odd.  First Jesus seems to venerate his cousin, John the Baptist, but then ostensibly casts John in a less than exuberant light:

“Amen, I say to you,
among those born of women
there has been none greater than John the Baptist;
yet the least in the Kingdom of heaven is greater than he.…

Incarceration carries stigma.   If a person is incarcerated, whether justly or unjustly, the very fact that the person is jailed or imprisoned convinces many if not most of us that the person did something illegal that warranted the imprisonment.  Although the common law claims that a person is innocent until proven guilty, many times it seems to operate in exactly the reverse order. …

I am increasingly amazed at how much yard and house decorating goes into the preparation for Halloween.  I am constantly curious and somehow strangely encouraged by the energy and creativity that goes into this ‘holiday!’

“You are like unseen graves over which people unknowingly walk”

Merriam Webster defines “throwing shade” in the following way:

Shade is a subtle, sneering expression of contempt for or disgust with someone—sometimes verbal, and sometimes not.…

We are in the fall time of year, where the days get shorter and cooler, leaves begin to turn, and in some ways there is a sense that things slow down.  Interestingly enough, there is still some excitement and growth even during this season. …