Every single person has a story that will break your heart. And if you're paying attention, many people...have a story that will bring you to your knees. Nobody rides for free.
01284 – Nobody Rides for Free
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01280 – God’s Spirit is Dangerous, Not Safe
In the midst of depression I once asked my spiritual director how I could be feeling such despair when not long before the depression hit I had been feeling so close to God? "Simple," she said. "The closer you get to light the closer you get to darkness." The deepest...
01240 – The Spiritual Effects of Clinging
One year I decided to plant English ivy as a border around my flower garden. I dipped the small vines in some pH-balanced enzyme powder and planted them around the flowers. Some weeks later the ivy had grown into a small jungle, clinging around the flower stems and...
01203 – Before Calling Me to Come Home…
Most of the children in my neighborhood are called home by their mothers. They open the back doors, wipe their hands on their aprons and yell, "Willie!" or "Joel!" or "Ray!" Either that or they use a bell, bolted to the door frame and loud enough to start the dogs...
01189 – Pentecost, God, and Finding What’s New
Let me describe what Pentecost wasn't like, all right? Picture all those believers meeting together. Suddenly there's the sound of a mighty rushing wind, and it fills all the house where they were sitting. "Great! This is wonderful!" they cry. "Quick! Shut the...
01171 – Life: A Series of Small Opportunities
The realism of these sayings is simply that life consists of a series of seemingly small opportunities. Most of us will not this week christen a ship, write a book, end a war, appoint a cabinet, dine with the queen, convert a nation, or be burned at the stake. More...
01107 – Experiencing Christ through Word and Sacrament
The disciples have now experienced Christ in word (interpreting the Scriptures) and sacrament (the breaking of bread). There is no doubt that Luke is writing not only the story of Jesus but also that of the church which knows him in these ways. The importance of...
01101 – What is Belonging?
Belonging is belonging to yourself first, speaking your truth, telling your story, and never betraying yourself for other people.
01065 – Honoring Women in Ministry
Today We Honor Women in Ministry My pilgrimage can be described rather simply and easily. Basically, the scenario goes like this: I listened to the Story, and I believed. When as a child the community of faith told me Jesus loved me and when they demonstrated that...
01025 – “What is Your Story, Daddy?”
[…telling a story about his father:] He was dying of cancer of the throat. He had been treated with radiation and surgery, leaving him weak, unable to eat, unable to speak, but fully able to feel pain. On a table by his bed was a stack of get-well cards, every one of...