Aug 10, 2018 | Uncategorized
Do you remember fire drills? Class interrupted. Walking quickly and quietly outside. It was a test for the principal, the teachers and the students. The building might burn, but we would be fine. St. Paul said our work for Jesus will be tested, too. And by fire!...
Aug 3, 2018 | Uncategorized
Jeremiah heard a whisper from God: Go and watch the potter work the clay. See how he takes something flawed and spoiled and reworks it according to his good purpose. There’s a spectacular image for our best relationship to God! Malleable clay, on a spinning...
Jul 27, 2018 | Uncategorized
Jesus said we should “pray to God to send laborers out into his harvest (Matthew 9:35-10:23). Laborers, not spectators. Christianity was always supposed to be a verb, an exertion amidst the unfamiliar. Second, the labor is out; out is where the harvest is! The...
Jul 20, 2018 | Uncategorized
The world gives and we accept its titles: disabled, racial minority, elderly, immigrant, widow, poor, rich, retired, liberal and conservative, just to name a few. Such titles can’t possibly describe what God wants to accomplish with us.If we’re not...
Jul 13, 2018 | Uncategorized
People say “wow” a lot in conversations today. Have you noticed that? Mostly it’s an expression of polite interest. But wow is a spiritual state. Wow is the grandchild of awe and majesty. Wow is how we respond to beauty, immensity and complexity. Wow...
Jul 6, 2018 | Uncategorized
When I rest, I feel so good, such that I don’t know why I don’t rest more. Summertime, for many, brings a slowdown. I pray that you will use this slowdown to rest your minds, bodies and souls this summer.Rabbi Abraham Heschel reminds us, “Labor is a...
Jun 29, 2018 | Uncategorized
He must have been desperate. Leaders of the upper class don’t seek out low-class street preachers unless they’re desperate. His daughter was dying. Parents will do anything to save their children. Parents who don’t pray will pray. Those who have been indifferent to...
Jun 22, 2018 | Uncategorized
People remember Jesus calmed the wind and the sea with a phrase, “Peace! Be still!” What is less remembered is Jesus taught his followers to be able to do the same. “Where is your faith?” Jesus asked them. Following Jesus is about taking up agency. It’s about Jesus...
Jun 15, 2018 | Uncategorized
If God were a shape, I bet God would be round. Like a squiggly chalk circle drawn by a small child. Or, maybe even a big lavender-colored bubble. Round and whole, without end, always expanding. Gaining ground. Consuming everything that is loveless. Reversing the...
Jun 8, 2018 | Uncategorized
What is lovable about Jesus is he’s undeterred. He mobilized people of all kinds in his God enterprise. He drew and affected crowds that organized religion couldn’t or wouldn’t. This caused people to want to “restrain” him. Even his family. We do that, don’t we? We...
