About Me

Hi! I'm Joseph! Welcome to "One Short Sleep Past"

Hello!

I am a child of God, and that relationship is the foundation of my identity. I grew up a Preacher's Kid in western North Carolina. I'm currently serving as the Pastor of the Presbyterian Church of Lowell, NC. Most of my writing is at least tangentially theological. I graduated from Presbyterian College (2009) and Columbia Theological Seminary (2013). I'm very interested in smart people who disagree with me, and in using that dialogue to come to a better understanding of what is true.

This blog is a combination of framing current events theologically and sermons I've preached over the years. I welcome and encourage comments on any and all of these posts!

If you're looking for a place to start, here's a video interpretation of the Prologue to the Gospel of John.

Prologue to John from Joseph Taber on Vimeo.

2 comments:

  1. Hello there and have a poem on me! Well, on John Donne, actually.

    The title of your blog reminds me - the FPC M'ton choir will have a program next Wednesday evening, 5/14/14, and we'll sing two pieces by Jim Williams and Jim Gosler (sp?) First, A Hymn To God The Father (commissioned for our choir) and then a text from one of Donne's sermons (a piece commissioned by the Shelby PC).

    First -
    Wilt thou forgive that sin where I begun,
    Which was my sin, though it were done before?
    Wilt thou forgive that sin, through which I run,
    And do run still, though still I do deplore?
    When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
    For I have more.

    Wilt thou forgive that sin which I have won
    Others to sin, and made my sin their door?
    Wilt thou forgive that sin which I did shun
    A year or two, but wallow'd in, a score?
    When thou hast done, thou hast not done,
    For I have more.

    I have a sin of fear, that when I have spun
    My last thread, I shall perish on the shore;
    But swear by thyself, that at my death thy Son
    Shall shine as he shines now, and heretofore;
    And, having done that, thou hast done;
    I fear no more.
    John Donne

    And then...
    Bring us, O Lord God, at our last awakening into the house and gate of heaven, to enter into that gate and dwell in that house, where there shall be no darkness nor dazzling, but one equal light; no noise nor silence, but one equal music; no fears nor hopes, but one equal possession; no ends nor beginnings, but one equal eternity: in the habitations of thy majesty and glory, world without end.
    Amen.
    John Donne (1572-1631)
    Dean of St Paul's Cathedral

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    Replies
    1. Elsie! I'm not sure how this comment got past without my seeing it. I was actually at the debut of this song at Shelby Pres. They premiered it at a music appreciate Sunday. It's a beautiful anthem!

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