Healing Snakes: Christ and Healing from Bitterness By The Rev. Rian Adams The title says it all! Through the Christ and his love there is healing from bitterness. Today’s lesson is a prime example of how that can happen. When the image of a snake comes to mind it usually carries a negative connotation. I had many lessons as a child about the dangers of snakes. But Jesus, like so many things in the Gospel of John, flips the reader’s preconceived notions to the other side of the coin. Snakes can also be a…
Grace: A Poem For My Grandparents On Their 62nd Wedding Anniversary My grandparents taught me the beauty and the subtle art of grace through their relationship. Today they celebrate their 62nd wedding anniversary and as such I offer them this humble poem. They are people who are willing to suffer together because of their spirituality. Compassion for the other marked their relationship. It is quite challenging in a day when pop culture says that relationships are about ourselves. If you would like to read more of there story please click here. If you would like to check out more…
Reflections on Grace: The 62nd Wedding Anniversary of My Grandparents By The Rev. Rian Adams Today my grandparents, both alive and in good health, celebrate their 62nd wedding anniversary. I learned many lessons about grace as I watched and reflected on their relationship. I woke up early this morning intending to work on my dissertation that, ironically enough, focuses on a theology of mercy. That’s when it hit me; a great way to understand mercy is to reflect on how amazing people have lived their vocations together these past 62 years. Their love has modeled compassion and…
How To Be Happy: Poetry by Rian Adams How to be happy is a question that has spawned thousands of ideas, books, and even religions. Everyone seems to have a simple answer to a very complex issue. We often overlook some of life most important lessons because we are too busy looking for life’s answers. One thing being a priest has taught me is to avoid the people who have all the answers. The older I get the more questions I have. I’ve learned that the essence of happiness is living in the moment and…
Unity: The Spirituality of Jesus’s High Priestly Prayer by Rian Adams Unity. We don’t know what it is, but we certainly know what it’s not. Unity is not connectivity. We have plenty of connections these days… Facebook, Twitter, Instagram… even connections at church. The list goes on and on. But are we any closer to real unity with God and one another? I think this week’s lectionary reading confronts a longing deep inside of us for a oneness of heart and soul. Most agree, “sure we need unity…
Soulmates by Rian Adams The poem soulmates observes the ever illusive term in light of what love brings out of us. We often put emphasis on what love gives us and not it’s transformation in us. The concept of soulmate goes beyond feelings and, in fact, describes a type of relationship where unity and individuality are products of grace between two hearts. Have you ever been a better, deeper, person because of another? Soulmates are the people who pull out the dormant depth that was in us all along. The kind of relationship that calls us to…