Category Archives: Uncategorized

Warm, graceful, generous, funny

Posted on May 14, 2019 by hessd

I want to share with you today some signs I have carried with me for awhile now.  I love these signs; I love the people who thought of them and the people who thought it was a good idea to … Continue reading →

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Being who you are

Posted on April 16, 2019 by hessd

If you were once an important person, it is hard to give it up. I already knew that. I live in a Senior Center [1] where I see people struggling with it every day. For example, I see people who … Continue reading →

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Not being afraid

Posted on February 12, 2019 by hessd

There is nothing quite like fear to inspire an ardent interest in what works. I am going to cite today two formulations that have helped me and that I have thought about. [1]  It seems odd to me, as I … Continue reading →

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The Blindness of Good Intentions

Posted on January 5, 2019 by hessd

It is true that moral fervor can make you inattentive to other aspects of the problem. That is true of any kind of fervor. [1] There are so many examples that I see immediately that this consideration of ignorance, blindness, … Continue reading →

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On being God’s prophet

Posted on December 27, 2018 by hessd

Here is a series of reflections on the “emptying out” that so often—necessarily?—precedes the giving of God’s word to a prophet. And maybe more than a prophet, as well. Here, for instance is how Amos was called (Amos 7:14,15) 14 … Continue reading →

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An impromptu Advent homily

Posted on December 10, 2018 by hessd

It is the practice of the senior center where I live to have a Vespers service on Sunday afternoons. It’s a very sensible thing to do because some residents who have spent their whole lives “going to church” really can’t … Continue reading →

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New Year’s Resolutions

Posted on December 3, 2018 by hessd

If you read this blog as regularly as I do—unlikely, I admit—you will have noticed that there is a time when I start writing about the Advent stories that Matthew and Luke provide for us.  It is Luke this year. … Continue reading →

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Mother Theresa is a Servant

Posted on July 16, 2018 by hessd

And a hero.  And a saint.  You never hear anything bad about Mother Theresa. [1] And if you were waiting for me to say that I am going to stand up and start criticizing, you will wait for a long … Continue reading →

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Karl Barth and Ergophobia

Posted on May 7, 2018 by hessd

I want to think today about ergophobia. [1] I mean by this term not the familiar “fear of work,” (illustrated by the man hiding under the desk, below) but more a “fear of works righteousness.” The mainstay of Christian theology … Continue reading →

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Back to Burgundy

Posted on April 26, 2018 by hessd

I know scarcely any French at all and most of what I do know, I learned from movies or jokes. [1] I was curious, of course, when I saw a movie about French siblings coming to grips with their lapsed … Continue reading →

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