Thursday, September 26, 2019 | Reflections
You can hear the fear and anger of the psalmist in these lines as they call upon God to wipe out the enemies of Israel. Jesus teaches us to love our enemies, and yet who among us hasn’t wished for our enemies to have their comeuppance? Petty vengeance is ….(View...
Wednesday, September 25, 2019 | Reflections
The link between my father and me was like a glitchy phone line—important information was lost in static. Over time, that faulty line saw less and less use. His death left me feeling frustrated and angry. On retreat more than a year after his death, I sat….(View...
Tuesday, September 24, 2019 | Reflections
Bread is a simple food—flour, water, oil, yeast, a bit of sugar, time, and heat. Yeast—a living organism—eats the sugar and gives a gorgeous rise to a loaf of bread. Likewise, for us to rise, we must have the leaven of a living and lively faith. My l….(View this...
Monday, September 23, 2019 | Reflections
No matter how earnestly a person believes the world is flat, if that person keeps moving in the same direction, he or she will eventually arrive back where he or she started. Willful ignorance is always upended by truth—this is the nature of reality. I think sin works...
Sunday, September 22, 2019 | Reflections
One of my seminary classmates and I went on a pilgrimage to visit Marian shrines in the United States. We camped for a night along Lake Michigan. As we made our way to the beach, we followed a stream lined by tall trees that cast dark shadows against the brilliant...
Saturday, September 21, 2019 | Reflections
Once upon a time, two downtown churches in a large urban center each had a ministry with unhoused individuals. At the first church, participants were invited into a space that had been converted for this ministry. Church members and volunteers served food from behind...
Friday, September 20, 2019 | Reflections
On a fishing trip several years ago, I decided to cross a stream to retrieve a snagged lure. What had appeared a benevolent stream was a deceptively fast-running torrent—I feared my waders would be swamped. I knew if that happened, I would be pulled down and out to...
Thursday, September 19, 2019 | Reflections
The Beatitudes are some of Jesus’ most inspiring words, and they are recorded for us in Matthew and Luke. What Luke records [or writes] as merely “the poor,” Matthew adds the qualifier “in spirit.” Having encountered endemic poverty, I have come t….(View this...
Wednesday, September 18, 2019 | Reflections
Today is the first of three Ember Days this week (Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday). Ember Days fall once in each season and are observed by clergy as days of fasting and prayer, a time for deep reflection on their vocation. Ember Days are also the appointed times for...
Tuesday, September 17, 2019 | Reflections
On the day they crucify Jesus, his limp body hanging on the cross, his followers hide—afraid for their lives as they recall the cries of the crowd: Crucify him! The regular folks who have gathered to watch the killing seem convinced that Jesus’ teachings are...
