Finding Your Soul by David Anderson
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The End of the Retail God
We all start out with a training-wheels god. It’s always a very much bigger version of mother and father (with all the bane and blessing that entails). It’s a god who looks after you but also looks in on you—so you’d better be good. As we grow older we keep riding the training-wheels god. Our…
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The Day After
It’s the day after. The one that usually pulls you down. The day after Thanksgiving is such a downer we call it Black Friday. Retail therapy is the only upper we know for such a downer. The day after Christmas is the same, and everyone goes to see a “holiday movie.” The day after Easter…
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It’s Saturday, But Sunday’s Comin’
Tony Campolo is a writer, teacher and preacher, a white man who belongs to a black church in West Philadelphia. Mt. Carmel Baptist, he says, is “the closest thing to heaven this side of the pearly gates.” Campolo tells the story of a little preaching competition he had with the old black pastor at Mt.Carmel…
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The Cock Crows
At the heart of the “Greatest Story Ever Told” is a betrayal. No one would call their child Judas. The name is slimed with centuries of condemnation: the lily-livered turncoat who betrayed an innocent man for thirty pieces of silver. We might understand how the crowd could turn on Jesus, but how could someone from…
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The Parable of the Procrastinator
Once you have lived a few years, you understand how precious is time. When you were quite young you knew there were certain things that needed your attention, needed to be done, but you were too busy. Besides, there was always tomorrow. If you needed to lose a few pounds or cut back on your…
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A Clean Empty Space
Along with my clergy colleagues, Leslie and Jonathan, I was leading a session last night on fasting, a spiritual practice common to the three monotheistic faiths, Judaism, Christianity and Islam. One man in the group said, “I’ve been worshiping as an Episcopalian for 25 years and this is the first I ever remember anyone talking…
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The Prerequisite of Forgiveness
A king, visiting a prison, began to interview the inmates. Prisoner after prisoner insisted that he was innocent, that he had been framed, that a terrible injustice had been done. The King then asked the last prisoner, “And are you, too, as innocent as a lamb?” “No, your majesty. I am a thief. I was…
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The Spirituality of Mad Men
I love Donald Draper, even if he makes me cringe. He’s the star ad exec in the TV series Mad Men, and season five premiers this Sunday night. Donald Draper is a mystery. He is the picture of 1950s perfection—“has it all”—and yet his life is wildly out of control. It always seems…
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The Faith Float
“You know how you lie when you’re dating?” That’s the way Peter began his story. Early in their relationship, Marsha asked Peter, “What do you like to do?” Peter said, “I like to swim!” And Marsha said, “Um….me too!” So they got married, and went on their honeymoon to the Outer Banks of North…