Proximity has taught me some basic and humbling truths, including this vital lesson: Each of us is more than the worst thing we’ve ever done. My work with the poor and the incarcerated has persuaded me that the opposite of poverty is not wealth; the opposite of...
Christian worship is our affirmative, transforming response to the self-revelation of God… We are not seeking to find or to know an obscure, frightening being who needs to be placated. God makes and continues to make the first move, showing himself in power and in...
Jesus was this kind of giver. He is the greatest sign to us that life need not be dreary, need not be saved, but can be, must be, entirely spent. It is fear that makes us hold on to life or to what represents life’s meaning for us. The cross marked the place in...
This day reminds us of the worst and the best we see when we look in the mirror. On the one hand we see the selfishness, the fear the avarice and the cowardice that made Calvary inevitable. On the other hand, we see the selflessness, the confidence, the grace and the...
Jesus refuses to bolster the illusion that we protect ourselves by good and faithful living. …He dismisses that assumption by ignoring [the inquirers’] question. What Jesus does do is recognize [their] vulnerability, their feeling of being small and fragile, which...
Am I afraid to die? I am every time I let myself be seduced by the noisy voices of my world telling me that my “little life” is all I have and advising me to cling to it with all my might. But when I let these voices move to the background of my life and listen to...
The Holy Spirit as the awe-inspiring power of life and of love is a reality with which every human being is familiar, whatever name we give to it. Spirit is the very aliveness of our life. This holds true for every one of us. We differ only by the degree to which we...
To wait with openness and trust is an enormously radical attitude toward life. It is choosing to hope that something is happening for us that is far beyond our own imaginings. It is giving up control over our future and letting God define our life. It is living with...
The idea of “sacred space” is important [for worship]. The word “sanctuary” implies safety, shelter, and protection. A worship space communicates an otherness, but also a haven where individuals can come into acceptance, reflection, and space. A congregation is in...
The grace of God means something like: Here is your life. You might never have been, but you are because the party wouldn’t have been complete without you. Here is the world. Beautiful and terrible things will happen. Don’t be afraid. I am with you. Nothing can ever...