Jeff Fox-Kline's Weekly Blog

There is no more beautiful or comforting image in the entirety of scripture than the one provided to us by the author of Hebrews: 12:1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, 12:2 looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy that was set before him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken his seat at the right hand of the throne of God.  The great cloud of witnesses is one of the reasons why I'm still committed to this often-haggard institution of Church.  It's present in our baptisms, it's present at communion, it's present when we grieve after losing someone, it's present when we witness wedding vows, it's present when we strive to greatness, it's present when we fail to be our best selves. When we proclaim the life eternal we are recogniz

 Part of the job of pastoring is to be with people in the worst moments of their lives. You are invited to hospitals, crises, family conflict, funerals, and the general day to day of the difficult times. It's a tremendous honor.  It is a beautiful thing, though often can be an exhausting experience. And no one experience is like another. No hospitalization is the same as any other hospitalization. Memorial services may have some overlap, but never do they repeat. It's always an experience wherein you need to go in knowing that you don't know what's going on.  Or what to say. And that can be scary. It can be intimidating to hear someone talk about their impending death and then they look to you like you're supposed to make sense of it all (which, to be fair, is an [impossible] part of the job).  I've been reading  A Wrinkle In Time  for the first time in my life (shame on me). One of the characters, Mrs. Who, speaks largely in quotations, an affectation that init

Today the lectionary gives us a strange little gift  from the book of Ecclesiastes. I love the book of Ecclesiastes. This is not to say that I fully understand the book of Ecclesiastes, but it's such a strange little book. Right after the Proverbs, it's another book of wisdom. But the wisdom of Ecclesiastes' wisdom is not quite the same vibe as the Proverbs. A Proverb that I chose more or less at random:  Don’t love sleep or you will be poor;  stay alert and you will have plenty to eat. You see - this is wisdom. A little saying that helps us understand how to live better. Don't love sleep too much! Ok! I'm going to ignore the advice, but at least I understand it. But here is the second verse of Ecclesiastes: Perfectly pointless, says the Teacher, perfectly pointless.   Everything is pointless.  Now this? Not exactly helping me much. Instead of giving us one large chunk of Ecclesiastes, the lectionary gives us a sampling of verses from the first couple chapters. Let&

I'm not necessarily much of a bargain hunter. It's not that I don't like saving money, but I don't have that killer instinct to find the perfect coupon or notice when the price label says "$0.53/Oz" instead of "$0.62/Oz".  Sometimes stock photos are weird... What I have not tried my hand at is bartering. I wonder how I would do at it. I'll say I would not do nearly as well as Abraham in this passage from Genesis  that was supplied to me by this week's lectionary (and yes, it is still lectionary month!). Basically, God's got it in for Sodom and Gomorrah and Abraham was not ok with it.  "Will you really sweep away the innocent with the guilty?   What if there are fifty innocent people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not save the place for the sake of the fifty innocent people in it?   It’s not like you to do this, killing the innocent with the guilty as if there were no difference. It’s not like you! Will the judge of al

It's still lectionary month! That's right people, a whole month of me being told what scripture to write about! And today's scripture does not disappoint.  The gospel reading for the day is the story of Mary and Martha, which is worthy of a deep dive. But when I opened the website I use for the lectionary  I immediately realized that I needed to write about the Amos passage. Not because I knew it well, or even at all.  But! Look at how insane these first three verses are: This is what the Lord  God  showed me—a basket of summer fruit.  He said, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A basket of summer fruit.’  Then the  Lord  said to me, ‘The end  has come upon my people Israel;    I will never again pass them by. The songs of the temple  shall become wailings on that day,’ says the Lord  God ; ‘the dead bodies shall be many,    cast out in every place. Be silent!’ This is why the prophets are so fun to read. I don't know what the basket of fruit is about. I feel like le

 It's time for the first ever theme month on my blog! That's right! THEME MONTH! And what's the theme, you ask? I can hear your excitement, it's palpable. The theme of the month is... The lectionary! (holds for applause) I can't find a stock photo image for "the lectionary", so you'll have to settle for a Bible. The lectionary text for this coming Sunday is pretty well known. Luke 10:25-37 A legal expert stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he said, “what must I do to gain eternal life?” Jesus replied,  “What is written in the Law? How do you interpret it?” He responded, “ You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your being, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself .” Jesus said to him,  “You have answered correctly. Do this and you will live.” But the legal expert wanted to prove that he was right, so he said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” Jesus replied,  “A man went down from Jerusalem