Help in Hard Times
As wave after wave of unmarked cars with out-of-state plates circle my neighborhood, I see the eyes of many of neighbors fill with fear. I hear stories of a child left alone on the street on the way to school, the father snatched away by armed, masked men dressed in unidentifiable tactical gear; of a […]
Freedom
(for Bertice) A close friend of mine, a Sociologist, writer, and clergywoman, shared something recently that I cannot shake. In her search within the Library of Congress for slave narratives, she discovered multiple accounts of slave masters on their deathbeds, begging forgiveness from their slaves. In every account, the slaves granted it. “They are the soul […]
When Action Leads the Way
When I think about following the teachings of Jesus, I think about love, justice, truth, non-violence, hope, generosity. These big ideas are irresistible to me, even on my most cynical days. So it’s weird to me when Jesus makes arguments for living life not based on ideals or morals, but base practicality.* Jesus looks around […]
Standing Tall
It was the Sabbath, and a woman hobbled in—bent over, her eyes fixed on the dust beneath her feet. For eighteen years she had been looking at the ground, never the faces around her. Invisible to nearly everyone, Jesus saw her true identity: daughter of Abraham, part of the covenant. As her back straightened, so […]
