Thirteen ways of looking at the garden
After the city, the garden /
is quiet, the leaves green /
enough to absorb every cry.
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Easter us
Praying at a public event has challenges. People might have other beliefs or no faith tradition at all. I consider this when I open meetings with prayer at our Florida retirement park. When prayer respects differences, most people appreciate it. Resurrection mysteries This month Christians celebrate Easter, and every Sunday is a celebration of Easter….
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Of death and pascha
WHAT PERSISTS /
there is the void /
there is the heavy immovable stone . . . -
Deo Volente
Back in the days of Gestetner machines and electric typewriters, I literally cranked out the bulletin for our small-town church. Many announcements, especially those on the weekly calendar, were punctuated by the letters DV. As a new Christian, I had no idea what that meant. The pastor kindly pointed me to James 4. We shouldn’t…
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The real scandal
Muckraking is a game. There are operatives, opponents and reporters everywhere looking for dirt, and there is much to be found. I watched the show “Scandal” for entertainment, and scandal is a common story theme. “Oh, what tangled webs we weave, when first we practice to deceive” (as Sir Walter Scott said, not Shakespeare). Far…
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An invitation to feast at the table of suffering
There was the communion table. It was really just a stained leather trunk holding memorabilia from my childhood – mixed cassette tapes of Bon Jovi and Brian Adams, public speaking trophies, some melted candles and old photos. The day was white with snow. We draped our trunk with a lace cloth. It felt holy, somehow,…
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An enduring hope
When we are young, we don’t bother to think much about our eventual demise, assuming that a good half century or more stretches before us, if God is willing. During my own youth, I was more likely to worry about what I would fill those future years with so as not to waste the gifts…
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Give us Barabbas
In the season of Lent, we reflect on aspects of Jesus’ suffering for us. Unfortunately, the story of Barabbas has been radically misused against the Jewish people throughout church history. Barabbas is significant enough that all four Gospel writers reference him. Matthew tells us that he was “a well-known prisoner” and might even give him…
