Is Forgiveness What We Think It Is? (Part 2)
In the last post I sketched out some of my ideas on what forgiveness isn’t. It’s not forgetting in the sense of erasing betrayal from our memories. It’s certainly not returning to our adversaries to [...]
Of Jesus and Despair
Somewhere in his fifties, a friend of mine looked back on his life and concluded it was a waste. There had been jobs, good ones, but no meaningful career arc. He had joined several faith [...]
Discomfort with Easter
I have never liked Easter. Deep down I’ve known this for years but couldn’t admit it, even to myself. After all, Easter is when we Christians celebrate the resurrection of Christ from the dead and [...]
What Would Happen If You Dropped Everything?
What if you were asked to drop everything and go in a different direction? It’s amazing how often this crops up in ancient stories. To wit: The Hebrew prophet Jonah preaches destruction to the Assyrian [...]
Can the Truth Set Us Free in the Trump Era?
This is the story of a weird Bible interpretation and the unexpected wisdom it holds for us today. Recently I came across the gospel account of Jesus and a Jewish sect called the Sadducees. As [...]
Incarnation: Maybe It’s Not Just a Jesus Thing
Always remember that you are absolutely unique…just like everyone else. —bumper sticker It’s a little weird when your profound life lesson for 2017 turns up on a bumper sticker. For the past few years [...]
A Brief (and Interfaith) Christmas Meditation
This morning, my email brought me a story in which the author delivered a sefer Torah, the long scroll used in synagogues, to a fledgling Reform community in Israel. The actual hand-off, which took place [...]
Why We Must Listen, and Listen, and Listen Again
This isn’t about aural listening per se, but I think the lesson still applies. Today my church’s lectionary (a fixed order of sacred texts for each day of the year) prescribed the reading of Matthew [...]
Moses and Where Change Comes From
But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh, and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?” God said, “I will be with you.” —Exodus 3:11-12a Next Sunday, I have [...]
What Good Friday Says About Dialogue
It’s hard for me to compose a blog post on Good Friday and not write about Jesus. He is, after all, the central figure of the Christian faith, and his execution on a Roman cross [...]