Near
God being near is how it all gets started and is sustained. God was near to Jesus at his baptism, near enough to whisper the words “beloved” and the affirmation “pleased.” God wanted new nearness to Jesus so God directed him through Spirit to the soul-making crucible...
Convinced
Before St. Paul begins his best-known chapter – the one about love, 1 Corinthians 13 – he finishes the 12th chapter with this, “I will show you a more excellent way.” Given all of the division and vitriol that has become a normalized part of life, we might need to...
Rendezvous
Whether we’re meeting God for the first time or the eighty-second time there’s a reliable rendezvous available to us. It’s at the intersection of our failing strength, fraying faith, and God’s understanding and power. This crossroad is where God infuses our expiring...
Unclean
As Jesus teaches in the synagogue he is interrupted by a man with an “unclean spirit.” When we see those two words in scripture it means a demonic spirit. A spirit that is not love. A spirit that opposes God. A spirit that harms the community and the host. Unclean...
Both
Simon and Andrew “immediately” dropped their net and joined Jesus’ friend making campaign. To my mind, either Jesus was exceedingly compelling, or their discontent with their occupation was peaking or both? Sometimes we can think of these bible stories in too pristine...
Hello Darling
“Hello Darling Today I find myself a long way from you and the children. I am at the State Prison in Reidsville which is about 230 miles from Atlanta. They picked me up from the DeKalb jail about 4 ’0 clock this morning. I know this whole experience is very difficult...
Beginning Again
Be like the wise men who brought Jesus gifts this year. 1. Follow your star. Where is the star of your heart leading you? Yes, I know COVID has complicated everything but really, follow your star. 2. Take a journey. Even if it is virtual, go somewhere new. We are...
A Way
As we say goodbye to 2020 and face 2021 there’s much to grieve and to give thanks for. When I consider where we have been and where we might be headed as a world, nation, and church, the biblical idea of wilderness helps me make sense of things. Wilderness throughout...