Married to Jesus... and Angela. Father of Joshua, Sarah, and Grace. A son of the living God. Hidden in the Midwest...somewhere.
About Jason Thompson
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Pancake Syrup & Justification
I could hardly believe it when my wife informed me that the Aunt Jemima brand was being retired amid the recent protests and concern over the perpetuation of racist caricatures in pop culture. The murder of black men and women by the police is an unspeakable tragedy to be sure, an unspeakably horrific injustice representative […]
Grace at a Funeral: A Father’s Day Reflection
When it was his turn to speak, I didn’t even recognize him. I hadn’t seen him in 30 years. Making his way to the podium, he paused and genuflected before my father’s casket before sharing his reflections of having known my dad. His name is Ryan Sattler and he and his family had lived directly […]
Get on the Bus: Fatherhood, Vulnerability, Redemption, and Grace
At the heart of Spike Lee’s travelogue Get on the Bus is a message that politics can’t save our communities. Ultimately, we need dads to be dads to their kids, whatever that looks like. Though he tends to lean left in his politics, this rarely touted 1996 film retains a fairly conservative message that “it […]
Quarantine, Netflix, and Bittersweet Memories of Bernie Mac
A couple of months ago, my big brother wanted to do a movie night replete with Miller High Life and the kind of fraternal bonding that can only take place in the midnight hour. Then, the kids are asleep, the challenges of marriage and parenting are momentarily put on pause, and two brothers who are […]
Hope, Humor, and the Healing We Need Right Now
Our best hope right now just might be humor. Recent events have reminded us that racism is one of the uglier elephants in the room: a festering disease we have swept under the rug for years and dealt with superficially at best; an unresolved issue exacerbated by our unwillingness to come to the table and […]
One Last Wish, “My Better Half,” and a Better Word through Baptism
Hearing the Law and Gospel in a Rock Bands Lyrics
Damaged Goods, Law/Gospel Confusion, and the Elusive Meaning of Love…
Sometimes I’m thinking that I love you But I know it’s only lust The sins of the flesh Are simply sins of lust… – Gang of Four, “Damaged Goods” The popular 80s song declares, “I wanna know what love is.” We all want to know what love is. More specifically, we want to know what […]
The Films of 2019
This is not a comprehensive list of all the best films that came out in 2019 but rather a summary of several films that I enjoyed, or that impacted me, last year. There are so many titles missing from this review that either I didn’t have the chance to view or didn’t have time to […]
When Christmas Looks Like Easter: Reflections from the First 72 Hours of Processing Grief
On this mountain he will destroy the shroud that enfolds all peoples, the sheet that covers all nations; The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth… – Isaiah 25:7-8 No one’s ever really gone – Luke Skywalker On Christmas Eve, my Dad slipped into a […]
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