Sorting by

×
Skip to main content
All Posts By

Thomas A. Boogaart

Inside OutMagazine

Falling into the Earth

In Chapter 12 of the Gospel of John, Jesus announces, “The hour has come,” and with these words the focus of this gospel shifts. Knowing that his hour of death is near, Jesus turns his attention to his disciples and tries to explain to them the meaning of his life and imminent death. Jesus begins with this striking image: “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much…
Thomas A. Boogaart
June 30, 2018
Uncategorized

Caring for the Creation That Cares for Us

We all hold deep convictions that nurture us and give us direction. These convictions have a history; they are planted in everyday experiences that grow in significance over time and determine our behavior. My conviction about creation has such a history. I want to tell a part of that history briefly for two reasons: one is to provide some context for what I have to say about creation; the other is to invite you, the reader, to consider the history…
Thomas A. Boogaart
May 1, 2013
Uncategorized

Ascension, Adoption, Homecoming

APRIL 2007: ESSAY by Thomas A. Boogaart Introduction I do not remember Ascension Day ever being celebrated when I was a boy growing up in a Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I do not remember the Ascension itself ever being the subject of a sermon. In my church, we celebrated Jesus' birth--elaborate pageants complete with shepherds, wise men, and angels. We delighted in his ministry--the intriguing parables, the miraculous healings, and the bickering with the Pharisees. We mourned his…
Thomas A. Boogaart
April 16, 2007
Uncategorized

The Empires of Cheney, Caesar, and Christ

Christmas is a time when Christians think about empires, or at least when they should be thinking about them. The nativity narrative in the Gospel of Luke is a story of the rise and fall of empires, a theme often lost to us amid the tinsel, shopping, and sentimental din that fill the season. We need to enter a quieter space to recover this theme, and to contrast it with the gospel of empire proclaimed last year at this time…
Thomas A. Boogaart
December 16, 2004