How to Love
My heart sinks when I read the “new commandment” that Jesus gave to his followers: to love one another as he had loved them, because I know how far I am from that standard.* Pictures from all four gospels flood my mind: Jesus welcoming outcasts and misfits, “unclean” women and noisy children, leaders like Nicodemus and foreigners […]
Divine Encounter
My memory takes me to a prayer service I attended at Christ House, a medical care and whole being recovery facility for homeless men in Washington, DC. I sat shoulder to shoulder with patients and staff and others gathered to acknowledge our belonging in the hands of a loving God and offer our longing for […]
Recognizing Jesus
Sometimes there are so many interesting details in one Bible story that I don’t know where to look. This third encounter between the resurrected Jesus and the disciples* is one such story: Peter naked in the boat, hurriedly putting his clothes back on before diving into the water; the very specific count of fish. When […]
Doubt and Trust
As I write this, it is still Lent, and in the locked room of my imagination Jesus is still headed towards the cross, and not yet walking through walls to join the cowering disciples who watched their hopes die along with him on the cross.* Instead of replying “He is risen, indeed” to the victorious […]