EVERY ATOM

Traditional Word Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;     do not fret over those who prosper in their way,     over those who carry out evil devices.   Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.     Do not fret—it leads only to evil. For the wicked shall be cut off,     but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;     though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.   But the meek shall inherit the land,     and delight themselves in abundant prosperity. –Psalms 37:7-11 Contemporary Word What humility does for one is it reminds us that there are people before me. I have already been paid for. And what I need to do is prepare myself so that I can pay for someone else who has yet to come but who may be here and needs me. --May...

The Prayer Wheel: Your Kingdom Come A sermon for University Congregational Church Sunday, May 13, 2018 Rev. Paul E. Ellis Jackson Traditional Word Mark 1:14-15 14  Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news [ i ]  of God, [ j ]   15  and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; [ k ]  repent, and believe in the good news.” [ l ] Mark 12:32-34 32  Then the scribe said to him, “You are right, Teacher; you have truly said that ‘he is one, and besides him there is no other’;  33  and ‘to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the strength,’ and ‘to love one’s neighbor as oneself,’—this is much more important than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.”  34  When Jesus saw that he answered wisely, he said to him, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” After that no one dared to ask him any question. Contemporary Wo...

Last night, I sat at a table here at University Church with a few well-known church members and one not-so-well known. We had all gathered for a meeting on the church's upcoming stewardship campaign. As we began our meal, I inquired of the person I didn't know so well how she and her family had happened to arrive to our church--how did they find their way to University Congregational? She responded that her husband worked in the neighborhood and upon their return to her hometown of Wichita a couple of years ago, they decided to do some church shopping. Our church was an obvious place to start their journey and they anticipated that they would be looking for a church "home" for at least a while. What they didn't expect was to so quickly and completely become enchanted with University Church. They find our music program to be outstanding. I didn't ask why they've stayed just yet. I wanted the words to linger in our minds for a while. I asked the coup...

“Re-Imagine the World: The Parable of the Empty Jar” A Sermon for University Congregational Church Sunday, July 9, 2017 By Rev. Paul E. Ellis Jackson Traditional Word  Jesus said: The kingdom of the [Father] is like a woman; carrying a jar full of meal and walking a long way. The handle on the jar broke; the meal poured out behind her on the road. She was unaware, she knew not her loss. When she came into her house, she put down the jar (and) found it empty. The Gospel of Thomas, 97 We join spokes together in a wheel, but it is the center hole that makes the wagon move. We shape clay into a pot, but it is the emptiness inside that holds whatever we want. We hammer wood for a house, but it is the inner space that makes it livable. We work with being, but non-being is what we use. From the Tao De Ching Contemporary Word “The artist's job is not to succumb to despair but to find an antidote for the emptiness of existence.”  ―  Woody Allen...

Hola! I finally finish my MDiv this coming May and plan on returning to the blog for more regular posting. My seminary career has pretty much consumed all of my writing time for the past three years--it'll be good to get back on here in a regular manner. I am going to post one of my recent sermons here. I'm posting it because of some difficulty some folks in my context have had in hearing any criticism of their country. I go to great pains in the sermon to state clearly that while I love my country on the one hand, on the other I have problems with my government's treatment of certain individuals and nations and states. I'm curious as to your thoughts. Feel free to contact me through my blog-spot contact page. Pax! Paul  WALK WITH ME TO CHACRASECA Walk with me to Chacraseca, Nicaragua….down the dusty streets beside cinder-block  homes and plastic lean-tos. Walk with me to Chacraseca, past the Madrono trees in whose branches sit the colorful Guardaburranc...