During one summer in seminary, I worked in a theological college in a country in east Africa. It was the worst summer ever. And I think about it every day. Whatever capacity I have to sit with you in times of pain or mystery is largely because of that summer...
Every family has an event that defines its history: “That was before Uncle Billy went to prison or that was after Cousin Sally ran off with the vacuum cleaner salesman.” And it is so tempting the make the worst day in our lives the most significant day. But, the significance...
Today’s reflection is the first of a three-part reflection, that will continue at the Great Vigil of Easter and on Easter Sunday morning. Perhaps we could take advantage of this Holy Week space to meditate a bit longer. This morning, the best I want to place a series of images...
But when he came to himself he said . . . I am dying here of hunger. . . I will get up and go to my father. It is hard not to read today’s Gospel account of what is traditionally known as “the prodigal son,” and not immediately frame...
When I was a child, it was quite clear to me that God was an old white man who sat on a cloud. He—and it was always He—had made the world and then slipped away to monitor from a distance. He had very good eyesight or a very strong telescope...
or The Dynamic of Subtle Energies in the Transfiguration How, in our heart and souls, do we imagine God as being Light? Our texts, sages, mystics, and saints describe an Uncreated Light that infuses all of existence, a current of energy that sparks life around us and within us....
The next time you worry that there’s something wrong with your family, I encourage you to break out the book of Genesis and read the story of the worst family ever, the Jacob saga. A quick recap of Jacob’s story is necessary so that Joseph’s story makes sense. This is,...
This morning, I hope to approach my sermon in a slightly different way. I want to explore a particular theological reflection with you, a way to engage the text itself that demonstrates the opportunity we have to be transformed by the words we read—the Word we encounter—rather than use our...
When I was a kid, we would take a family vacation to the beach each Summer, and while I didn’t care for sand, I loved swimming in the Gulf of Mexico. While the others would lay out to “get some sun,” I would take my goggles and swim out into...
Last weekend I enjoyed the special privilege of time with 100 amazing women, including my sweet and amazing daughter, Rebekah. I have three sons as well who I love with my whole heart, but for decades now just the one daughter. Some years ago, she and I clearly transitioned from...