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...
Monday, October 12, 2020 | Reflections
We learn about the abuse of power early. Playground bullies and manipulative childhood acquaintances use others’ relative weakness and gullibility for their gain. As adults, we learn there are always unspoken expectations underlying every request, appeal, arrangement,...
Sunday, October 11, 2020 | Reflections
Southern Arizona, where I live, has a similar climate to Isaiah’s time and place. When I read this passage, I thought of our summer temperatures, which top out at more than 110 degrees Fahrenheit, and the microburst (downdraft) that recently tore through our...
Saturday, October 10, 2020 | Reflections
Today we remember Vida Dutton Scudder (1861–1954). I learned about her when I lived in the Boston area and attended retreats at Adelynrood, the retreat center of the Society of the Companions of the Holy Cross, of which Vida Dutton Scudder was a beloved member. The...
Friday, October 9, 2020 | Reflections
I remember a time in college when I put my foot in my mouth. Our band was going on tour, and the band director announced the itinerary. He mentioned that we would be stopping in a little town called Boerne. I said, “Bernie? What the heck is in Bernie?” The quiet...
Thursday, October 8, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archive: May 18, 1954The New Testament insists on the resurrection of the body. It refuses to be carried away with the Greek belief in a “spiritual” immortality, whereby we “escape” the prison of the body. Food and digestion may belong to….(View this...
Wednesday, October 7, 2020 | Reflections
Early American evangelist Lorenzo Dow coined the phrase, “You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t,” condemning preachers who “make the Bible clash and contradict itself.” Dow was a fascinating character who reminds me of John the Baptist. He never washed, his...
Tuesday, October 6, 2020 | Reflections
Paul has been causing all kinds of trouble in Jerusalem and the Roman tribune has had enough, so he sends Paul to Felix, the governor. In responding to this rumor of forty Jews lying in ambush to assassinate Paul, the tribune puts together a force more than ten times...
Monday, October 5, 2020 | Reflections
Peaches are my favorite fruit. When my husband and I had been married about ten years, we took a trip together. When we got to our guest casita at a New Mexico hot springs, we began to unload the car. I handed him a peach that we had bought at a roadside stand,...
Sunday, October 4, 2020 | Reflections
Sunsets in the desert can be spectacular. The sun emits colors across the spectrum; the different wavelengths of those colors make the sky appear blue during the day. As the sun sets, warmer shades of gold, orange, and red fill the horizon. The particular kind of...
Saturday, October 3, 2020 | Reflections
Just after college, I spent two years teaching English in Seoul, South Korea. While I had traveled abroad, this was my first time to live overseas. One important thing I learned was not to take my US citizenship for granted. The privileges and power it provided were...
Friday, October 2, 2020 | Reflections
We don’t know much about many of the Old Testament prophets. Scripture doesn’t detail Hosea’s background and Elijah doesn’t even have a job, much less a backstory. Amos apparently tended trees and flocks before being called to preach God’s message to the powerful;...
Thursday, October 1, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: April 7, 1954If, in the face of religious doubts and difficulties, we yield to the temptation to abandon what faith we have, what we are really saying is, “If I can’t understand everything, I won’t try to understand anything. If I….(View this...
Wednesday, September 30, 2020 | Reflections
What I love most about studying scripture is that they teach through narrative. There is no directive that stands untroubled or unquestioned. The commands of the Old Testament are reinterpreted through the New Testament.The red-letter words of Jesus cross each other...
Tuesday, September 29, 2020 | Reflections
The word bless has many meanings depending on the subject that is blessing and the object that is being blessed. Its most familiar form means to invoke or confer divine favor upon. This is what we mean when God blesses us or when a person (often clergy) blesses...
