What is Jesus Telling me About God?
When I read the parables in which Jesus likens God to an abusive landlord* or an overbearing boss, I cringe. This righteous, angry, vengeful God is the one that too many churches use as an excuse to silence anyone who asks too many questions, to restrict leadership opportunities for women, to refuse to recognize the […]
Believe
Believe. It’s a powerful word, commonly used. It’s on bumper stickers, coffee mugs and signs over doorways. I like seeing the sign over a doorway because belief is a doorway. In this week’s gospel, Jesus says it is the doorway to heaven.* He points to the complexity by beginning with the prerequisite of seeing, then […]
Understanding Doesn’t Heal
I’m a sucker for self-help books with a spiritual or cosmic thread. I love to learn and it’s been a relatively harmless addiction. My quest has been to understand my purpose and to live with the consequences of my choices. But what could Jesus possibly mean when he talks of letting go of one’s life […]
Walking on Water
As the deadline for this piece steadily approached, I struggled to find a fresh way into the familiar story of Jesus inviting Peter to join him on top of some stormy waves* and kept coming up with an empty net. One day, an idea floated out of the depths of memory, and I wrote, One […]