Photo by Rune Haugseng on Upsplash
Who thought anything could put the whole world on “pause”? In almost no time, COVID-19 has achieved what our collective ideologies should have acknowledged long ago: despite all our differences, we’re still all humans living on the same orb. We believers would add – beholden and answerable to the…..
The Parable of the Wheat and the Weeds from Matthew 13:24-30 (The Message)
Jesus told another story. “God’s kingdom is like a farmer who planted good seed in his field. That night, while his hired men were asleep, his enemy sowed thistles all through the wheat and slipped…..
Photo by Jeremy Bezanger on Upsplash
Valentine’s Day attracts a lot of superficial talk about love, but it strikes a chord in that we all want love in our lives. Maybe the holiday reminds us of how much we wish – and against all experience to the contrary – expect love to be simple: hearts, flowers, chocolates, and tender I love you’s.
But our lives teach…..
Photo by Casey Horner on Unsplash
Last week I had the privilege of speaking to Eastern University’s Campolo Scholars – students who are considering a call to parish ministry. I was asked to speak about the role of scripture in shaping Christian community.
What is the role of scripture in shaping…..
Passing the anniversary of the pandemic outbreak, with hope shining brightly on the horizon like the advent of spring, it seems like a good time to take stock of where this year of isolation from social norms as brought us.
While grateful for the silver linings, we’d be…..
Our pandemic has brought many miseries, but the biggest loss may be its loneliness. There since the beginning – along with fear, alarm, frustration, confusion, and anger – to name a few of its covid-spawned siblings – our ache from unconnectedness has formed the backdrop of our nearly year-long experience. With Christmas…..
When the pandemic hit us back in March, I saw it not as a punishment God was inflicting on us – history demonstrates that we humans are quite capable of bringing trouble on ourselves – but that the Lord would use this time to teach us something. This has happened…..
Photo by K. Mitch Hodge on Upsplash
Our deepest freedom rests not in our freedom to do what we want to do but rather in our freedom to become who God wills us to be. —James Finley
The Old Testament Josiah stands out as one of the few kings of Israel credited for his goodness in the eyes of the Lord. In the wake of his father’s abuses of the faith and desecration of the Temple, Josiah focused his reign on…..
Photo by Clay Banks on Upsplash
The protests that ended up in rioting this weekend confirm my belief in Satan. It’s an evil force that hijacks and exploits righteous anger, deflecting the focus on the very real problems facing black Americans and opening the door that allows people to dismiss the issue because there was violence. In the wake of this tumult – protesters and good police alike – are unfairly maligned, and plenty of innocent by-standing shopkeepers have found…..
Photo by Ava Sol on Upsplash
As part of the fallout from our current lockdown, I’m feeling hug deprived. Not only do I not have my grandkids to hold, but I’m also missing the many pleasant greeting embraces I typically receive in the course of a week from my friends and family.
I’ve heard little talked about this great loss COVID has wrought – our restrictions on touching each other. In the new post-pandemic world will we have to refrain…..
Photo by Andrew Winkler on Upsplash
By my count, we’ve now accumulated more the fifty days in our current lockdown mode. I’m sure I could easily cite fifty reasons I wish it were over already.
In the forefront lies the recognition that, as someone very cleverly put it, “We’re not all in the same boat; we’re all in the same storm.” We are not suffering equally, and it’s frustrating to feel the limitations of what I can do to be helpful in…..