James Baldwin once observed, “To be with God is really to be involved with some enormous, overwhelming desire, and joy, and power which you cannot control, which controls you. I conceive of my own life as a journey toward something I do not understand, which in the going toward, makes me better. I conceive of … read
Why do you suppose so many people find the twenty-third psalm so meaningful? You know it – The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for … read
Every so often I look at our dining room table and let out a big sigh. I do not think it will ever get cleaned off. It’s the place where we eat most of our meals. It’s also the biggest horizontal space in the house, so the mail and the newspaper and backpacks and stuff … read
“Show me your scars, and I won’t walk away.” In high school, I had a teacher who had the scars of a severe burn on his face since his own childhood. A huge visible red area. Every time he walked in the room, that was the first thing you would notice about him. I’ll never … read
A few weeks ago I read an article* entitled, “How to Feel Alive Again.” It caught my eye because it was the end of February when we are thick in our gray, drippy winter, and because I had been thinking about COVID still casting its shadow over us, and I was considering that maybe the … read
One Palm Sunday commentator used an unusual metaphor to unpack the mixed bag that was Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem: bagpipes. Writer Brian Maas tells of being called to a congregation whose tradition it was to have bagpipes lead the palm parade into the sanctuary. Although I enjoy bagpipes, I’ve never thought of them as using … read