Our Need For a Judas – Apr. 4, 2023
“We all need someone to draw off the demonic in us. We still need someone to blame, someone on whom we can project our own fears and phantoms. How often have we hear a parent say, “that child will be the death of me!” Or one marriage partner say of another, “I should have known […]
The Courage of Reaching Out
“Your faith has made you well.”* Like many things Jesus says, these words make me uncomfortable. I am instantly transported back to my high school logic class: if it is true that having faith makes you well, then the logical implication is that being unwell must mean you do not have faith. And the idea […]
Rules for the Journey
Jesus appoints a group of 72 to go ahead of him. They will test the waters, see where the welcome waits and where it does not. More importantly, they will leave the secure camaraderie of their tight circle and venture forth, two by two, into God’s wide world of blessed and bewildered people. To prepare […]
Humility and Compassion – Oct. 10, 2019
“When we can stop blaming others or nature or God for not getting what we want and be honest about what this inevitable rearrangement does to us, then humility and compassion are possible.” –Mark Nepo, “Not Getting What We Want,” Seven Thousand Ways to Listen