Dear Folks -

   In 1967 a movie was released that was so controversial at the time that theaters in many places, especially Southern States, refused to show it. The movie was "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and the theme of the movie was interracial marriage. At the time such marriages were illegal in 17 states. Times change. That is not, however, the reason I used this story to introduce the notion of how radical was the practice of Jesus eating with "all sorts and conditions" of people. What is called "table fellowship" is likely the most controversial social action of Jesus. We are called to live lives of the same kind of inclusiveness. A complete copy of the text I used in the Ordinary Life Talk this week is below.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Download 20080629.pdf

Download 20080629.mp3

Dear Folks -

   What is the glue that holds everything together? I got to playing around with this metaphor when my son, who sells surgical equipment, told me that one of the things used today to hold surgical wounds together is "super glue." Our society is held together by a glue. Sometimes we are not aware of this and its impact on us - just as a fish is not aware of the water in which it swims.

   If we are interested in understanding the teachings of Jesus, it would also be helpful for us to understand the glue that held his society together. It was very different from our own. If we don't know the differences between the world in which we live and his, we won't understand his teaching. This "life talk" is about understanding those differences and, in the end, seeks to summarize the teaching of Jesus to one phrase.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Download 20080622.pdf

Download 20080622.mp3

Dear Folks -

   I called the talk I gave in Ordinary Life this week "Learning to Stand on Our Heads." This talk begins a series on The Sermon on the Mount - a very non-creedal and non-doctrinal collection of the sayings of Jesus. If we hear them as they are, they challenge every value that is esteemed by the conventional wisdom of our culture. This talk is mostly about that fact: namely, that we have a hard time hearing truths that are critical about things that we think give us worth and significance.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Download 20080615.pdf

Download 20080615.mp3

Dear Folks -

   We have a moral obligation to be happy. This is one of the principles I came up with to use as a guide in my own spiritual work and practice. I have decided to do an extended series on this particular principle using The Sermon on the Mount as a guide. This talk introduces the series and covers some of what I think are important considerations before we actually get to the heart of the so-called Sermon itself.

Much love,

Bill Kerley

Download 20080608.pdf

Download 20080608.mp3