Two things are True. We are here on this earth for joy, for happiness, for deep gladness. And, we can never find a life of joy, happiness and deep gladness unless we find some way to deal with our pain. Pain is a tricky thing, like fire. It can enlighten or burn. But because pain […]
Choosing What We See
In the latest Sandra Bullock movie, Bird Box, a shadowy alien invasion causes mass suicide to sweep the planet. For no apparent reason people suddenly, without warning, leap from a building or step in front of a truck. It is Malorie, played by Bullock, who somehow realizes the cause of it all: the shadowy supernatural […]
The Secret Reward
Part 2 in a Five-Part Lenten Series Imagine the Academy Awards… in secret. Someone from the Academy calls. “Congratulations,” the voice says, “you are the Best Actress.” That’s it. There is no gala, no red carpet, no envelope please, no Oscar statuette. No one ever finds out who wins. Only you. Isn’t that the whole […]
The Big Secret
First in a Lenten Series How did I miss this? I’ve been reading this Ash Wednesday gospel for decades. Same every year. Matthew 6. Sermon on the Mount. Yet when I heard it this year, I was struck by what seemed the most obvious, pressing, urgent message of Jesus’ address. It’s the word secret. I […]
Gutsy Embrace
I’m not a big fan of “inclusion.” I’m very much for widening the circle of love and embrace, but “inclusion” has been sloganized by liberal Protestants until it means something like vague acceptance. The ideal includers are people with a coat hanger smile who just love everybody! And if that’s what it takes to be […]
Four Percent
The rationalists used to be able to laugh at us believer-types, when we stood together and confessed our belief in “all things visible and invisible.” That was before astronomers and physicists discovered “dark matter.” When we look up at the moon and the stars we assume we are seeing all there is in the universe. […]