A further imagining based on Matthew 9:18-26/Mark 5:21-43/Luke 8:40-56 and Luke 8:1-3. A continuation of last week’s post New Life.
In the months that followed her healing, Johanna, who had lived twelve years an outcast, now found herself embraced with community. As much as she could, she joined along with the women supporting…..
A further imaging based on Matthew 9:18-26/Mark 5:21-43/Luke 8:40-56 and Luke 8:1-3. See my post The Touch for the beginning of the story.
It wasn’t a dream. Johanna woke up the morning after the Rabbi had healed her hemorrhaging, savoring her newfound cleanliness. Samuel rested peacefully beside her, doubtlessly still exhausted from…..
Christianity faces a tall order in explaining God’s forgiveness. On the surface, it just seems too simple. A person can do any evil, and God guarantees a full pardon? Paul anticipates the problem in Romans 6:15 – “So should we sin more that grace may abound? Of course not!”
…..
While it’s easy to cast blame on others, dealing with our own misdeeds can really trip us up. Instinctively, we know guilt is toxic to us.
We have so many ways to evade feeling guilty – excuses and rationales to make us believe “there’s nothing to feel guilty about.”…..
Guilt is a peculiar thing. Like fire, it fascinates us at a distance, but we quickly draw our hand away when it gets too close.
Our biblical introduction to guilt speaks clearly to our human instincts. When God confronts the Man and the Woman in the Garden, they rush to exonerate themselves. Instead of asking…..
As we begin Lent this Ash Wednesday, I’m reminded what a contrast this waiting period makes against Advent with all its festivities and merriment. Many traditions recommend giving up something during this period – a kind of antidote to the indulgences of the run-up to Christmas.
Since it’s never been part…..
While looking for inspiration this week I decided to open the Bible randomly and see what turned up. I came to Psalm 77:11-12 (The Message):
Once again I’ll go over what God has done,
Lay out on the table the ancient wonders;
I’ll ponder all the things you’ve accomplished,
…..
In honor of Valentine’s Day, a love poem
If I had known before,
What I know now,
Could I have saved myself
From loving you?
For loving you has cost me much;
More than I thought I had to spend.
I was so young and starry-eyed
When first we…..
We know that God listens but we also know that we can’t make the Lord do something for us. Often when a prayer we say isn’t granted we discover that God helps us nonetheless, in a way we hadn’t expected. But we can’t help wondering …
Do we ever change God’s…..
Does it matter what we pray for?
Do I have a right to ask something of God when I already enjoy so many blessings? Am I somehow becoming greedy when I pray for something for myself? Isn’t it silly to request small favors from God when so many big problems loom over our world?
Pious…..