Finding Your Soul by David Anderson
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Hagar
is the wild card in God’s plan of universal salvation. When her mistress Sarah cannot conceive, Sarah gives her slave to have sex with Abraham (Gen. 16). Like a lot of poor women, Hagar is just given like a piece of property; her body is not her own. She gets pregnant, bears Ishmael, and Sarah…
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Jesus
begins the Lenten journey—every year—by heading out to the wilderness and taking us along (Mark 1:9-15). The wilderness is often portrayed as an ominous and threatening place—avoid it at all costs. But what if it has a word for us, a message from God? Because the Exodus sojourn in the wilderness became the single most…
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“Turn, Turn, Turn” by the Byrds
On Saturdays our companions are musicians. Every Saturday is Music day in the series, and for these “Stories of Turning,” there seemed no better song than the classic, “Turn, Turn, Turn” by the Byrds. Watch and listen below. Then check out the brief notes and commentary just below the YouTube recording. I always thought “Turn,…
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Lot’s Wife
is perhaps the Bible’s most famous turner. God was about to destroy the city of Sodom, her hometown, and despite being warned to leave and not look back, she did (Gen. 19). She couldn’t help herself. I have a hard time condemning Mrs. Lot since I would have done the same thing. I’m with that…
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Two Unnamed Boys
in a parable of Jesus became my brother and me. There once was a father, Jesus said, with two sons. He says to the first, “Go and work in the vineyard today.” The first boy says, “I will not.” But later, he changes his mind. He grabs his pruning hook. To the same question, the…
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Peter
knew how to turn. That’s why he is a model for us on Ash Wednesday, a day that calls us to turn in a new direction. I mean Peter’s famous vision of a sheet descending from heaven filled with all the animals he was—by law—forbidden to eat (Acts 10: 1-48). A voice from heaven says,…
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Dreams Too Big To Manage
On Friday night we checked into a hotel in Philadelphia. We had tickets to a play and decided to make a weekend of it. The next morning I opened the drapes. There, across the street, stood the Museum of the American Revolution. Let’s go! I said. The exhibits, enlivened by Hollywood-quality videos, were dramatic and…
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Taking Responsibility For Our Faces
“After a certain number of years,” said the writer Cynthia Ozick, “our faces become our biographies. We get to be responsible for our faces.” A few days ago, shaving, I noticed the beginnings of jowls. My chin was holding its own but on either side near the corners of my mouth, my face was starting…
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Loving the Unlovable
Some people may be “easy to love,” but I haven’t met them. “Easy to like”? Sure. But love implies closeness, sometimes inescapable closeness. Love means blood or vows or commitments we have made to care for people. Sometimes a commitment chooses us: someone needs help and no one else is either able or willing. At…