Good Friday is more accurately Holy Friday, the Friday before Easter Sunday. It commemorates the day Jesus Christ was led to a Jerusalem hill, nailed to a Roman cross, and lifted high until he died a long and excruciating death. We don't celebrate Good Friday, but Christians do remember it.Why ... Continue reading
Survivor’s guilt
December 16, 2023 By Leave a Comment
You had one job! An internet memeParents are supposed to keep bad things from happening to their kids. That's the rule and everybody knows it. If something terrible happens to a child, our first thought is often, Where were the parents?, not, There, but for the grace of God, go I.If you've ... Continue reading
Did Jesus bury the lede?
February 27, 2023 By Leave a Comment
As Jesus traveled the countryside preaching and healing, the question everyone asked was: "Who is this guy?"John the Baptist was asking the same thing. One day, he tasked a couple of his own disciples to go have a talk with Jesus. Here's how Luke describes the meeting:John’s two disciples ... Continue reading
Power, life, and love in the blood
February 13, 2023 By Leave a Comment
I'm going to talk about blood. If you're squeamish, you might look for a post about kittens and puppies.After working in our yard, I often return to the house with my arms covered in bleeding scratches and punctures. The desert is alive with thorns, many of them cleverly barbed and remarkably ... Continue reading
Prone to wander
May 18, 2018 By Leave a Comment
"Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love." —Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, Robert RobinsonOf the Bible's myriad stories, I see myself most clearly as the wandering son in Jesus' parable from Luke 15:11-32. I'm currently reading Henri Nouwen's reflection on we ... Continue reading
Mercy from a long way off
September 12, 2013 By 2 Comments
To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: "A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, 'I want my share of your estate now before you die.' So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons."A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and ... Continue reading
Crazy Heart: A story of redemption
November 17, 2010 By Leave a Comment
I used to be somebody, but now I am somebody else I used to be somebody, but now I am somebody else Who I'll be tomorrow is anybody's guessWhat was thought to be the right way turned out the wrong way after all What was thought to be the right way turned out the wrong way after all What ... Continue reading
Radical reconciliation
November 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday his hand was extended to Hamas for reconciliation and called on his Islamist rivals to sign an Egyptian proposal to end their division. "We have agreed to the Egyptian document and we call upon Hamas to accept it without procrastination," he ... Continue reading
