culture
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O Antiphons: Branch
O come, thou Branch of Jesse's tree, free them from Satan's tyranny that trust thy mighty power to save, and give them victory o'er the grave. You come to free us.Oh, and there is so… Continue reading
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Target Practice
Last night I dreamthe crowd chooses mefor death. I am to lie on my sidewhile a woman with a rifleshoots at me. I feel the bulletsburn through my shoulder,my side,my chest.With each shotI grow weaker. I do not mind the… Continue reading
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WWJS
WWJSWho would Jesus shoot? WAWWJCWhich assult weapon would Jesus carry? He lived in a worldas dangerous as ours,this Prince of Peace, then took a bulletto save it. We'd be doomedif he'd returned fire for fire. "Father, forgive them–they know not… Continue reading
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Compromising the Divine
Our ideas of God always conformto the norms of our culture. How radical faith would be if we could crossthese imagined borders. Text and image © 2012 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading
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NYC, 4/25/12
This is New York City–the metropolis of big applesand miniscule elevators.Where every block speaks two dozen languages,and every cabbie relays stories of persecution and opportunity,where endless energy mingleswith curbsides of bagged, early-morning garbage. And it continues to spin–a perpetual motion… Continue reading
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Advent 6
Light breaks through. For ancient Romethe empire represented light–light for the world–the light of the emperor,the light of god. And along come Matthew, Luke, John–all making the radical (dangerous!) claimthat this new one, this baby, this neonateis the actual light of the world–not… Continue reading
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The Cloak of Cultural Convention
Christians have alwayswrapped themselvesin the cloak of cultural convention: When the culture wore the coat of slavery,the church wore the coat of slavery. When the culture wore the coat of segregation,the church wore the coat of segregation. When the culture… Continue reading
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Voice of the Prophets
Each day around the worldin brutalitysprout the seeds of death,a ghastly gardenwatered by our averted gaze,our lost sensitivity,our lives of distraction. The time to reap approachesand our culture of consumptionshall fall beneaththe harvester's blade. Text and image © 2011 by… Continue reading
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Poor Moses and Miriam
Poor Moses and Miriam–their entirely original vision of freedom,justice,equality,mystery,dancing,groaning,the dis-ease that leads us into the wilderness that is God, co-opted by the order,oppression,consumption,satiation,and certainty of Solomon. It is the death of faith. Is this our destiny as well? Text and image… Continue reading
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Today, Online
Today,online,I searched for a wePhone,a wePadand a wePod.<sigh> Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved. Continue reading