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- Angst, Celecbration, fomo, JOMO, MOMO, Parables, Sought Out
No One Left Out
In the early 2000s, a new acronym emerged to describe the new levels of anxiety created by social media. FOMO (the “fear of missing out”) had always existed, but it ...
Who Is Really Wicked?
The 2024 movie adaptation of the Broadway musical Wicked introduces the misnamed Wicked Witch, Elphaba, with a child’s question: “Why does wickedness happen?” Glinda answers with the story of Elphaba’s childhood, one ...
Grace For All
Flannery O’Connor’s classic Southern Gothic short story “Revelation” tells the story of Mrs. Turpin, an upstanding, self-righteous white woman who sorts people crudely by class and race as she waits ...
Lost No More
For many, the language of “lost” and “found” in these three parables will call to mind the words of the most well-known of all hymns, “Amazing Grace,” with its line, ...
Rome Ran Up The Score
Whenever one football team is significantly better than their opponent, they may choose not to beat them as badly as they could. The coach may insert their weaker players and ...
Cross Necklace Symbolism
There is nothing wrong with wearing a cross as a piece of jewelry, but it is important to remember what you are wearing. Replace the cross with an electric chair ...
Inspired Not By Accident
“The commentators were ecstatic after the game. ‘He played like a man inspired,’ they said. What images does that conjure up for you? A sports star, perhaps, running rings round ...
Many Messiahs, One King
The centuries before and after Jesus was a time of intense conflict for the Jews. Jesus was not the first or last person to start a movement that many hoped ...
It’s Difficult to Understand the Writing Without the Author
Imagine trying to argue about the significance of the Declaration of Independence if you thought Thomas Jefferson never existed. It would be such an odd position to take, imagining some ...
Authority On The Subject
“Don’t take my word for it,” we say, putting the “it” on someone else to carry the responsibility. Sometimes we say it so that if our actions fail, we won’t ...
Burden Is Light
William Barclay on carrying the burdens of others: “There is an old story which tells how a man came upon a little boy carrying a still smaller boy, who was ...
If Only
We have all struggled with life at times and have felt the “if only” scenario. People who struggle with finances will sometimes say, “If I could just win the lottery,” ...