A good preacher knows the power of words. A great preacher is more like a poet, transforming with just a few syllables. Rev. Peter J. Gomes was a great preacher indeed. I had a chance this week to review some of his teachings, as I received a Gomes award from Harvard Divinity School, a huge […]
Somehow it has been a whole decade since the magnificent Rev. Peter Gomes has passed away, and I spent some time this week listening to recordings of his sermons. In one of my favorites he reminds his listeners, mostly university folks, that the purpose is “that we not simply grow smarter, but that we […]
Years ago, I was lucky to hear the legendary Rev. Prof. Peter Gomes reference a distinction that Vaclav Havel made between hope and optimism. I recall Rev. Gomes noting that optimism was not really so useful, since optimism could be crushed in the face of failure. But hope, he said, was a much deeper, […]