The Christian narrative is a call to be dispossessed. The desire to possess is one of the greatest manifestations of fear in the world today. The desire to possess is what leads us to so much violence ... Daily newspapers (are full) of ample testimony to the gravity...
According to Matthew, the whole grand experiment hangs on what happens with Joseph... The child is Joseph's until he says otherwise...the issue at stake is not a biological one but a legal one... Will he believe the impossible and give it a home or will he stick with...
The cave you fear holds the treasure you seek.
Sunrise in the story of Easter is not just a time of day; it is a state of the heart. Sunrise is the space where nighttime fears move aside for hope, where we feel peace about our mortality in the scope of the universal truth that love abides and where we feel light...
Fear narrows the little entrance of our heart. It shrinks up our capacity to love. It freezes up our power to forgive ourselves.
When we love a person, we accept him or her exactly as is: the lovely with the unlovely, the strong with the fearful, the true mixed in with the façade, and of course, the only way we can do it is by accepting ourselves that way.
I have loved the stars too fondly to be fearful of the night.
If our religion is based on salvation, our chief emotions will be fear and trembling. If our religion is based on wonder, our chief emotion will be gratitude.
Today if you have... ...plenty of water to drink and food to eat. ...a roof over your head. ...a bed to sleep in. ...facilities to shower or bathe. ...a private indoor toilet. ...a job to go to or a school to attend. ...no bombs, shooting, or shelling within earshot....
A theology rooted in fear results in hostility, aggression, and coercion towards others. A theology rooted in love results in kindness, humility, and compassion towards others. How we Christians treat others is the clearest indication of which theology we have.