Names Matter
We post-enlightenment folks tend to believe that names are simply arbitrary collections of syllables, with no connection to the essential reality of the people or things that they point to. Just as it doesn’t change the taste or consistency or any other tangible quality if I call my breakfast porridge or oatmeal, it shouldn’t make […]
A Healing Faith
In today’s gospel* Jesus challenges a faith that is defined more by adherence to human constructed proprieties than by an ever-expanding heart of love. He calls us to deep inner reflection, to listen and understand where we are coming from in our individual and corporate desires and ways and where God might be calling us […]
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 […]
Buried Treasure
A friend of mine calls the work to uncover the roots of emotional blind spots “hunting for buried treasure.” This delightful framing encourages me to tenderly sift amongst my doubts and fears with more ease. What hidden jewels of self are these intrusive tendencies protecting? In the Parable of the Weeds,* we see the impulse […]
