Jody Vickery

Jim is a new friend, several years my senior and retired, a jack of many trades, master of several, and a pretty good guitarist. “I ought to be,” he said the other day; “I’ve been playing for 60 years.” Lisa and I met him last week at a long-term care facility, or what we used to call a nursing home. Jim isn’t a resident but he goes there the third Wednesday of every month to sing and play for those who are. He invited us to join him for one of his “gigs,” so we did. I hate going to … Read more…

Depending on which version you read, when Jesus encountered the man with leprosy in Mark 1:40 – 45, He was moved with compassion, filled with compassion, deeply moved, filled with pity, or indignant. The emotion Jesus felt changes ever so slightly, sort of like how certain colors in a painting seem to brighten and dominate or dim and recede as the angles and sources of light in the room vary. He was either close to tears because of the man’s suffering or hacked off at how sickness had ravaged this child of God. He felt sorry for the poor guy … Read more…

The angry season is upon us. For the next 15 months, we will be witness to attacks, accusations, allegations and indictments – both the rhetorical and, perhaps, the legal variety.  Yes, it’s Presidential Election time once again in the U.S. Granted, we have been blessed by our foresighted forefathers with a bloodless means of exchanging power. For this, we should be grateful. In other countries, the losers are tossed into a hole and covered with dirt. Here, they are tossed onto the lecture circuit and covered with money. So it could be worse. But it can also be tons better. … Read more…

When it begins, the concluding story of John’s Gospel feels like the kind of joke an old man tells. “So, these seven guys are in a boat about a hundred yards from shore. They fish all night and don’t catch a thing. Then, this other guy comes up and shouts . . .”. When the punch line comes, the old man laughs and you laugh with him, not because the joke is funny, but because he enjoys telling it so much. Six verses in, though, and you know this is more than an amusing tale.  The “other guy” tells them that if they throw … Read more…

Jesus is everywhere in the Old Testament. He is in the story of Isaac, the son offered as a sacrifice. He is Joseph, betrayed by his brothers. He is David, the unlikely king. Or Solomon the wise, Moses the deliverer, Esther the savior, or Job the innocent sufferer. As Paul told the Corinthians, in Christ, the veil is removed and we see Jesus every time we read Moses. But that’s especially true in Isaiah. In the New Testament’s favorite prophet, we see Jesus as the promised King, the suffering Servant, and the Healer of the world. The first and last … Read more…

In a previous post, I introduced you to my late sister, Jean. My parents discovered, soon after her birth in April, 1961, that she had severe physical and cognitive defects. Jean never spoke a word, walked a step, or as far as we know, had a coherent thought. Mom, dad or one of her four siblings fed her every bite of food she ever ate, bathed her, changed her diapers and dispensed her many medications. She was, for her entire 45 years on this earth, an infant in every way except physical size. The term we used back then, long … Read more…

Last Sunday night, our church had our annual ice cream social. While those with the gift of service were downstairs setting things up, about 250 of us were upstairs singing. I think singing is one of the things that makes Christianity such an oddity in our culture. Where else, beside karaoke bars and birthday parties, do people sing? Anyway, while we were all making a joyful noise, I spotted a couple a few rows behind me. Like everyone else here, they are new to me and I to them. Our history together as preacher and congregation is barely eight weeks … Read more…

A few weeks ago, a gay friend emailed me asking me to pray for the Supreme Court’s deliberations regarding same-sex marriage. He knows where I stand on the issue, but he’s been on the receiving end of some hateful rhetoric, so I think he was hoping that a favorable ruling would presage a more tolerant climate. The same day, another friend emailed a similar request, but his hopes were that the Court would rule out same-sex marriage as a constitutional right. Then came the decision. I’m certain my gay friend celebrated. I, and many of my other friends, did not. As for being … Read more…

It is folly to comment on unfolding events for the obvious reason that the events in question — and the events leading up to the events — are not fully understood. Investigations regularly uncover salient details that provide insight into what actually happened, why it happened, who was responsible and how many were involved. Too often, people react to an event they think they understand, or understand well enough, only to discover that the narrative they accepted doesn’t closely align with reality. So anything you read in this post is subject to revision as the story clarifies. Plus, I’m often wrong even when all the … Read more…

Before you are ten, he can do anything. Any thing. Beat up all the other kids’ dads. Scare monsters out of the closet. Throw a curve ball, catch a shark, slay dragons, tame wild horses, run marathons bare-footed, even fix a broken down car with one of your mom’s hair pins, a Lego piece and duct tape. He exhales excellence. He is universally competent. And he smells good doing it. After you turn ten, though, his invincibility begins to waver. His bravery comes across more like bravado. His opinions — and they are legion, for they are many — become offensive. His … Read more…