At 40, Franz Kafka (1883-1924), who never married and had no children, was walking through a park one day in Berlin when he met a girl who was crying because she had lost her favourite doll. She and Kafka searched for the doll unsuccessfully. Kafka told her to meet...
At the end of your time here, the world will either be more or less kind, compassionate, generous, funny, creative, and loving because of your presence in it--and you alone get to choose. from Hope and Other Superpowers
All of us might wish at times that we lived in a more tranquil world, but we don't. And if our times are difficult and perplexing, so are they challenging and filled with opportunity.
[1987 - extemporaneous response to someone's public objection of her being allowed to preach] While we are in this place debating about who can or cannot stand behind a piece of wood, there's a world out there. And the cries of that world are growing louder. There's a...
The invitation to work for social justice is one of the essential, nonnegotiable pillars within Christian spirituality... Social justice has to do with changing the way the world is organized so as to make a level playing field for everyone. In simple terms this means...
Some people live an entire lifetime and wonder if they have ever made a difference in the world. A veteran doesn't have that problem.
Biblical mysticism is the attempt to exit "this world" to an alternative reality that pervades the old order. Its goal is to jettison the mind-set that says "greed is good," "selfishness is normal," and "killing is necessary." Mysticism in biblical terms is not...
This is a dark time, filled with suffering and uncertainty. Like living cells in a larger body, it is natural that we feel the trauma of our world. So don't be afraid of the anguish you feel, or the anger or fear, because these responses arise from the depths of your...
Grant that I may not look to the probabilities of success, but to the wisdom of being faithful. Inspire me to be committed, persistent, and enduring in my devotion to live by values that are sacred; rather than calling sacred whatever may be my values. And so may I be...
If we lose a generation of young people in the church, it won't be because we didn't entertain them. It will be because we didn't dare them to do something meaningful with the Gospel in light of the world we live in.