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Words From the Middle

At the intersection of Sacred and Profane

2020/12/13

We don’t have to choose

The Third Sunday of Advent is the Sunday of Joy. Joy is one of those tricky words because it has perfectly acceptable casual uses but also more technical uses. Happiness and joy are often considered synonyms and used as such with no difficulty. However, there is a deeper meaning to “joy” that connects us to […]

Article by Barry / Advent, Preaching, Sunday, Year B / advent, advent 3, happiness, happy, joy, joyful, preaching, rejoice Leave a Comment

2017/10/15

Sometimes it is hard to rejoice

 As I was reading the Lectionary texts for this week I was struck by the Old Testament lesson. Exodus 32 begins with the story of the golden calf, where the people of God give up and turn to an idol. What struck me was how demoralizing that story is. I even wrote it down, “The […]

Article by Barry / Pentecost, Preaching, Year A / Exodus, golden calf, idol, Philippians, preaching, rejoice, think, think better, think on these things Leave a Comment

2015/12/13

Do we want joy or happiness?

This Sunday’s sermons about joy and happiness and what the difference, if any, is between them. I made the point, which I would be happy to have anyone challenge me on, that happiness is dependent on external circumstances and joy is internal and independent of external circumstances. I also did my best to draw a […]

Article by Barry / Advent, Preaching, Sunday, Year C / advent, happiness, happy, joy, joyful, preaching, rejoice Leave a Comment

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