Tuesday, September 15, 2020 | Reflections
These words spoken by the Pharisees after seeing Jesus ride triumphant into Jerusalem for the Passover strike me as both folly and cause for celebration. For one, God’s movement in the world is too powerful for evil to overcome. God moves in the world, and the world...
Monday, September 14, 2020 | Reflections
Almost every supervillain storyline follows a similar trope: dispossessed individuals gain some power but subsequently isolate and overextend themselves. Meanwhile, much more powerful superheroes acknowledge their need for relationship and commitment to others and...
Sunday, September 13, 2020 | Reflections
Like many Christians, I seek to serve; I look for opportunities to help. Unwittingly I appoint myself judge over who needs help and what help they need. I see the homeless on the street and decide who to give to and in what amount.Congregations and community groups...
Saturday, September 12, 2020 | Reflections
As a consultant, I am often invited into spaces where I may know less than those I am advising. I do not understand chemistry as well as an engineer, instruction as well as a curriculum designer. Yet I am invited to counsel and help to clarify paths around and through...
Friday, September 11, 2020 | Reflections
John is the gospel of the divine Jesus, who foretells his own death and who is the Word incarnate. In the story of the raising of Lazarus, Jesus decides not to go directly when he hears his friend is ill. He is infinitely confident in his divinity and seems to know...
Thursday, September 10, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: October 10, 1952The psalmist appears to be celebrating the two things that have most impressed their mind and spirit: the glory of God manifested in the heavens and the righteousness of God as revealed in the Law. The firs….(View this reading...
Wednesday, September 9, 2020 | Reflections
There is always more to be done: I sometimes wish I could extend the day infinitely, just to catch up so that tomorrow might arrive with a blank slate. The blue light of our screens and the caffeine in our coffees incrementally extend day into night, often at the cost...
Tuesday, September 8, 2020 | Reflections
Paul and Barnabas have just healed a man, lame from birth, in the name of Jesus. The people are amazed and attribute the act to the men before them, not the God they serve. We only see what we know how to look for.By putting Edison’s face on the light...
Monday, September 7, 2020 | Reflections
In large-group discussions, I often experience a great deal of anxiety before I contribute. A thought will hit me, and I quickly bat it away. I try to listen even harder to what others are saying, but the incessant buzzing of that thought grows in intensity until I...
Sunday, September 6, 2020 | Reflections
Many of my relationships are challenged by the scarcity of time. We want to give our best and most fully present selves to each other, but we fall short of our own hopes, intentions, and expectations. Paul encourages us to pay our debts so that we owe no...
