Tuesday, October 27, 2020 | Reflections
Have you ever heard of the Sasanian Empire? How about the Chola Dynasty? Know anything about the Empire of Trebizond? All of these ancient realms were more powerful than Israel ever was, yet they have been mostly forgotten in modern history.Tiny, relatively powerless...
Monday, October 26, 2020 | Reflections
I love the humor in this line! Sirach admonishes us not to gossip—but he does much more. He offers us many practical suggestions in today’s reading.We all share stories—that’s how we form bonds, strengthen communities, and claim what we stand for. Yet, told...
Sunday, October 25, 2020 | Reflections
There’s no question that Christianity is facing some serious challenges in the public sphere in the United States. As at other times in history, people in power have co-opted Christ for their own ends.Paul gives us a recipe for a radically different approach, much...
Saturday, October 24, 2020 | Reflections
We once lived on seven acres of high desert outside Silver City, New Mexico. One gift of living there was observing the abundant wildlife. A bobcat spent one afternoon resting under our tree. Another time I encountered a snake by our birdseed bin. In both cases,...
Friday, October 23, 2020 | Reflections
Today we remember James of Jerusalem, one of Jesus’ brothers. Some believe that James was Jesus’ biological brother, while others disagree. Nevertheless, James clearly knew Jesus as a very human brother, with faults and failings like his own. As it was for others in...
Thursday, October 22, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: August 28, 1955/January 14, 1949 What the prophets taught holds good. God is loving and merciful but God’s purpose will not be balked. We ask: Why has the world fallen into such a fearful plight?God answers….(View this reading and more...
Wednesday, October 21, 2020 | Reflections
Is confession becoming a lost art? We seem to have lost the ability or willingness to be vulnerable—before God and others—or with ourselves. We don’t seem to recognize the value of opening our hearts and souls to God’s great grace.This doesn’t mean we don’t...
Tuesday, October 20, 2020 | Reflections
So, where did Jesus get seventy followers? We tend to think there were just twelve disciples, but there were women following him too—and they weren’t there to cook and clean. Several of the women who followed Jesus had money of their own and helped fund his...
Monday, October 19, 2020 | Reflections
I recently led a workshop on spiritual autobiography as part of a daylong retreat on embracing mortality. The focus of this workshop was on the trajectory of our spiritual lives, our awareness of and attentiveness to God over the course of our lives, and our spiritual...
Sunday, October 18, 2020 | Reflections
More than twenty years ago, our baby grandson was diagnosed with stage-four neuroblastoma—a cancerous growth the size of a soda can in his fourteen-month-old abdomen. In addition to medical treatment, we rallied the prayer troops—in our church and around the world, as...
Saturday, October 17, 2020 | Reflections
Perhaps the United States of America has always been an antagonistic society, founded as it was on being against England, against monarchy. Certainly, contemporary American culture seems to thrive on choosing sides and defending them mightily—be it a baseball team, a...
Friday, October 16, 2020 | Reflections
I’m fortunate to live within a day’s drive of two abysses: Arizona’s Grand Canyon and Wall Street, a desert pathway surrounded by vertical, towering orange walls on a well-traveled hike in Bryce Canyon, Utah.It is virtually impossible to see Wall Street from the...
Thursday, October 15, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: April 15, 1955In the vision of the cross, death loses all meaning for us since death is coupled to our rising up again. The spoils of Jesus’ cross are ours. When we seek the will of God in all….(View this reading and more resources for prayer...
Wednesday, October 14, 2020 | Reflections
Jesus sends the twelve disciples to minister in his name, giving them the same power and authority! I find it startling that Christians don’t talk more about how Jesus shared his healing power so freely with his followers—and how Jesus still shares this power, calling...
Tuesday, October 13, 2020 | Reflections
For the last week or so, we have read in the Book of Acts about Paul’s missionary journeys and the turmoil he caused by preaching about Jesus, which eventually led to his arrest.In today’s lesson, we learn that the Roman authorities were willing to release Paul from...
