On this weekend when we remember the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I wonder how things would have been different had he not be killed. Would he have continued his insistence on nonviolent resistance? How would his opposition to the Vietnam War affect his work? Would he have added concerns about the climate … read
As I went down in the river to pray Studying about that good old way And who shall wear the robe and crown Good Lord, show me the way! O brothers let’s go down Let’s go down, come on down Come on brothers let’s go down Down in the river to pray Today we’re going … read
What keeps you going and having faith? That is the question I’ve always had about those Magi, astrologer/magician types from the East—probably East as in Persia and not “the Orient,” a somewhat problematic term for Asians, but I digress. No matter, the East was still VERY FAR from where they came from! It would have … read
Merry Christmas! Today, we celebrate Emmanuel: God with us. Medieval mystic Meister Eckhart wrote that “We are all meant to be mothers of God, for God is always needing to be born.” Maybe that is the best explanation of why we celebrate, every year, the birth of Jesus, God with us (again!). God is always … read
This week I’ve been thinking about our friend Aaron Gray. Aaron would show up on a Sunday morning every now and then, usually late, often making his own version of a grand entrance. A couple of times he came in from the room behind me and would startle whoever was in the pulpit at that … read
This was the existential question that haunted my middle-school days. Every morning, as I stepped onto the bus, I braced myself: Who was going to punch me in the arm for no reason? What will I do if a group of boys circle me and grab my backpack and start tossing it around so I … read