Assume positive intent, thoughtful people advise, when reading emails. It’s hard to understand someone’s tone of voice from the words on the screen. Even when – or especially when – we know them well. Perhaps it’s hardest with someone we know, or think we know. We add the weight of all our previous interactions to… Read More
Wednesday Prayer: Ash Wednesday
Eternal God, on this day of ashes, even before they touch my forehead, I can taste them in my mouth. The taste of things I should not have said, of my own foolishness, of pride, unkindness, of ignorance. I feel them in my throat, the silence where I should have spoken and the grief that… Read More
Friday Festival
Remembering her own mountaintop journeys prompts Martha Spong to reflect on the mystery of the Transfiguration. She poses an interesting question about what the disciples – and we – perceive. “In this era of propaganda and marketing, social media and political campaigns, our perceptions are being messed with all the time. What are we noticing? Has truth changed? How… Read More
Wednesday Prayer
February, God. February. February teaches us – yet again – your surprises. The shortest month feels like the longest, shaming us when the Christmas box is still out, while we plan for Lent. The shortest month feels like the longest, God, testing our hope, in this in-between time. We would shorten the strange weather, and… Read More
Wednesday Prayer
Healer of all, around the globe, so many of our siblings are sick, lying in hospitals, or coughing at home, waiting for symptoms to develop or to ease working through an ache in body or spirit, living with pain that won’t quit its harassment. Come, we ask, with your healing might, easing the aching of… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Pigs and Prejudice (Mark 5:1-20)
Having a favorite Bible passage is as ill-advised as having a favorite child, but if I did have a favorite, this intriguing story would be a strong contender. It has everything: conflict, healing, payback, revelation, and even traveling pigs. Read the scripture here. Read the Working Preacher commentary. The story unfolds like a movie, with… Read More
Friday Festival: The Other Side of Christmas
Like every other pastor, I struggle with the Christmas Eve sermon. Having spent the year with church members standing by a graveside, or sitting in a claustrophobic hospital consult room, or handing out tissues when there are no words, I wonder what to say when I look into their eyes on Christmas Eve. The good… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Never Assume [Luke 1:5-13, [14-25] 57-80]
The story of the birth of John the Baptist is the story of the ordinary turned upside down, and made extraordinary. Every common assumption is reversed, through the power of God. Everyone in the story is wrong about what they expect to happen. God is in the reversal business all through Advent and Christmas, changing… Read More
Narrative Lectionary: Change of Plans [2 Kings 22:1-10, [14-20]; 23:1-3]
God’s reward system is curious. The reward for faithfulness is never a shiny new Mercedes, or even a Prius, just the gift of deeper work to do. The gift exchange for following God turns out to be…more of God. Answering Josiah’s remorse over Israel’s faithlessness, God promises him a peaceful death, and to be spared… Read More
Friday Festival: Dawn and Dusk
Shorter days are coming in some parts of the world, while others are finding longer, sunnier days. In the U.S., I find this time of year hard, as the dark and the cold take a mental toll. I found sustenance in our bloggers’ reflections on light, new dawns, and the beauty of twilight. A new… Read More
