Unfortunately, some of us feel that if we don’t check our smartphones every few minutes, we will miss out on something crucial, maybe the event of the year or the e-mail that will change the course of our lives. And it is even more embarrassing when we don’t seem to be aware that we are…

Theologians through the ages have written about Christians’ penchant for a “milquetoast Jesus,” who is, in today’s parlance, something of a wimp. Dorothy Sayers, better known for her Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries than her essays, wrote in exasperation in her book The Greatest Drama Ever Staged: “We have very efficiently pared the claws of the…

Consider a nurseryman. He propagates and raises ground covers. His hands work steadily, day in and day out, creating and co-creating new life for the world. He sits at a bench to do his work. In the still, humid heat of the summer he puts his bench out of doors in a particular spot where,…

Americans love stories. Sometimes we pass along some really important truths wrapped up in a story. Here’s a story–and one with a significant point for us all. My father was a one of those small town story tellers–not beyond stretching the truth a bit to make the tale richer. Let me relate one of his…

We have had an incredible few weeks of International and National current events! All these stories call our attention to massive human suffering, broken lives, pain, and sin in our world. At the same time these stories stir up within us a tremendous sense of empathy and compassion. Today’s scriptures invite us to reach out…