matt tullos: writer
On the Day of Atonement, a priest would lay his hands on a goat and place the sins of the entire nation. After this solemn act the scapegoat, would be led into the wilderness. Jesus, the one who would bear the sins of the world, was also led into the wilderness for forty days and […]
There was John and then there was Jesus. John couldn’t be categorized as anything but completely, radically, undeniably committed. His calling and mission propelled him into the vortex of the Jesus story. What do you call a man who wears camel’s skin and a belt? How do you explain a consistent diet of wild honey and […]
They up and left for Egypt and parts unknown. Jesus disappears from the pages of scripture. We do have one curious story. Maybe Mary and Jospeh forgot him or they just didn’t notice that he wasn’t with him until they reached the ancient exit ramp outside the walls of the Holy City. Even that story […]
As a stealth and sinister conspirator, he sent his henchman into the city of promise. He orchestrated the visceral wails of young mothers. The horsemen of the holocaust… Their hooves crushing the hearts of the mothers. Cruelty felt palpable that horrid night. I’d rather skip this story. There’s nothing good in all the unspeakable, gratuitous […]
Jesus was born. Yes, this is where the greatest adventure commenced and yet the beginning can only be described as “before.” Before war, before cities, before language, before thought… Jesus was there. Spirit moving over the face of the deep. Jesus began before the shout of angels outside Bethlehem’s borders. But his story expanded far […]
DarknessConfusionRejectionUncertaintyImprovisationAccommodationDustStrawLaborDangerAdaptationPainGaspsBreathsSweatContractionsInterruptionAnimals FearWonderWhispersConsolingMotivationSoonWeepingHelplessness PushingGraspingEncouragingTearsStrainingFluidBloodTiny headChestReliefJoy InfantCryingFatherRejoicingMotherSmilingCHILDRagsNurtureConnection KingAnswerPeaceLambSaviorHope JoyExchangeLoveSacrificeGraceYesJesusBeginning ___________________________
Can you hear the Great Samaritan? He’s just outside your door He’s carrying the wounded We so oftentimes ignore His holy arms are holding The lonely and the lost So great his holy ransom How precious was the cost. You are his solution Chosen for this day. Please don’t cause him sorrow. Please don’t turn […]
It’s not often that you find yourself walking through the mall with an archangel. But that’s kind of the way dreams are: a normal day and you then- throw in something odd- like going to school in only your underwear or discovering that your teeth are falling out one by one during the sermon at […]
“You see the people crowding against you,” His disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’” i wonder if the angels ask Him that on Sundays. Jesus looks through this mass of believers millions speaking singing and seeking a whirlwind of worship as the world spins from sun’s rise to fall. “Who touched […]
“But Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart.” Luke 2:19b Advent is to ponder. If you don’t take time to turn everything off and ponder sometime this week, you are left with all that is temporal, ordinary and fleeting about Christmas. Stop and ponder. Luke tells us in his gospel that […]