Author Archives: Paul Harris
From Luxury to Necessity and Then What?
Getting rid of our landline was one of the most liberating, yet disorienting things, and then it became a necessity. No more was there a limited location for connecting to the umbilical cord of modern society. With a cell phone, … Continue reading
Is Lust Sin or Not?
Rome would say it’s the tinder for sin, but not sin in and of itself, so go ahead and book a cruise on the Lust Boat. No harm; no foul, right? Wrong. It is sin, but then we have the … Continue reading
Fire and Rain
Nope. This isn’t about James Taylor’s “Fire and Rain”. That song maps the ups and downs of his life over about two years. A girl he knew who committed suicide, his career spiraled by drug addiction, and his recovery from … Continue reading
Bonus Blog – Sermon for St. Michael And All Angels, September 29
This was originally written and preached by me 29 years ago. I left it unchanged except for 2021 Word finding misspellings that apparently 1996 Word Perfect could not.
DIY Thanksgiving and Forgiving
“Today’s Focus Give Thanks to the Lord” was the printed theme for this Thanksgiving service. The subtitle could’ve been “and you can do it if you try really hard”. This is my fourth visit to a Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod … Continue reading
Burr Under My Saddle
I don’t know who first referred to having a “burr under my saddle”, and the fact I studiously avoided looking it up while some won’t be able not to is proof of my pudding. (I forbore to look that up … Continue reading
Going Digitally Deaf
As “Tiresias instructs Odysseus that, before he can go home, he must take his oar and walk inland until someone mistakes it for a winnowing fan—a tool for winnowing grain—and asks him what it is. In other words, as soon as … Continue reading
The Word, The Word, The Word
In General Douglas MacArthur’s retirement speech before the West Point corps of cadets on May 12, 1962 he famously ended with these words: “Today marks my final roll call with you. But I want you to know that when I cross the … Continue reading