Once again, as the old year passes and the new year beckons, it has been my custom to look back at my most popular posts of the year.
As in 2020 (or Plague Year 1, as I’m starting to think of it) we were home and refuge for some of our children and grandchildren, which was a great blessing.
I filled in remotely to lead worship for my pastor daughter while she was on sabbatical, and several of my sermons are on the list. I also joke that my theoblog is gradually morphing into a cooking blog, so several of my recipes made the list.
Like many of us COVID has forced me to recalibrate my focus and energies. I broke my wrist quite badly in July, had a couple of surgeries, and couldn’t type for several months, which is why this years offerings are thinner than usual. Falling seems to be my superpower.
I am preaching and teaching less and doing more of what retired people do, enjoying the rich bird habitat behind my house, hiking, cooking and reading fiction rather than theology (although I am making my way through Katherine Sonderegger’s magnificent opus.)
We lost some family members and others we loved in 2021. “The generations rise and fall.” We haven’t lost hope.
I appreciate all my readers and followers. May the Lord bless you and keep you in 2022.
Here are the ten most popular posts of 2020:
“You Did Not Choose Me, but I Chose You” A Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter
“Charge to First Church of Christ in Pittsfield, Massachusetts”
“Art’s Favorite Dessert: New England Indian Pudding”
“A Meditation on Divine Providence and Human Freedom” Luke 13: 1-9
“Unfinished Business/Unfinished Christians” A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter
“The American Presidency: Two New Books”
“The Model Sheperd”: A Sermon on John 10: 11-18
“Baked Sea Scallops with Tarragon and Panko”
“Rick’s Mediterranean Sheet Pan Roast Chicken”
And here are my top ten all-time posts:
“Why Did Jesus Refer to Herod as ‘That Fox’ in Luke 13: 32?”
“Distracted by Many Things” A Sermon on Luke 10: 38-42
“Breaking Chains, Opening Doors” A Sermon on Acts 16: 16-34
“Displaced Persons” A Sermon on Jeremiah 29: 1-14
“God Gives the Growth” A Retirement Sermon
“Pity the Nation” A Poem for Our Time by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
“Of Fig Trees and Second Chances” A Sermon on Luke 13: 6-9
“The Riddle of Smokehead Single Malt Whisky”
When I Survey . . . 