dialogue around the sacred words we use when speaking of the mystery we call GOD
My husband and I just returned from Hawaii, celebrating twenty-five years of marriage. We’re in a new season now that our girls are growing up — a reacquainting, really. Learning each other again. Given the relentless pace of raising three daughters, caring for aging parents, and working full-time jobs, our time together has run low... Continue Reading →
As Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber often says, preaching is a spoken act and so much of the meaning comes in the hearing of it. If you would like to hear/watch this piece, here is the link: https://www.christchurchgp.org/media/347pgvz/sermon-1-18-26 I come from a long line of serious treasure hunters – my family loves to thrift shop and many... Continue Reading →
In today’s Gospel Luke 20:27-38 we hear the Sadducees use a widow—one of the most vulnerable people in their society—as a prop in their theological game. They construct an absurd scenario around her suffering (being widowed seven times) to try and trip Jesus up and make the whole idea of resurrection look foolish. They didn’t actually... Continue Reading →
The disciples are afraid, huddled in a locked room together struggling to understand what has happened. Their emotions are likely all over the place. Some no doubt were completely overwhelmed with anxiety over being associated with a criminal - wondering if they walk out that door if they too will be arrested…accused…tortured…without any due process.... Continue Reading →
Discernment is the practice of distinguishing the voice of God from among the many different voices that vie for our attention, such as the expectations of others, cultural pressures, or even our own inner critic. The root word for “discern” means to “cut away.” So, discernment is the art of sorting through all these voices and our own... Continue Reading →
Meet Me in the Mess: Rethinking the Christmas Story December brings a wonderful tapestry of spiritual celebrations across the world. Whether it's the lights of Hanukkah, the reverence of Mawlid al-Nabi, the enlightenment celebrated on Bodhi Day, or the joy of Pancha Ganapati, this month holds deep meaning for many faiths. Among these traditions, Christians... Continue Reading →
One of the things that I have discovered in accompanying children in their faith development is that much of what I end up doing is un-teaching. Children often ask me to address ideas they've grown up hearing about God that contradict the loving and merciful divine presence that Jesus presents, teaches, and embodies. This experience... Continue Reading →
You know the old saying "If I had a nickel for every time...such and such happened"? Well, if I had a nickel every time someone asked me in whispered tones "I have doubts about the resurrection - both Jesus' and ours - can I still call myself a Christian?" I'd have a lot of nickels!... Continue Reading →
We believe that human beings are a fundamentally good creation and sin is anything that keeps us from communion with God, others and our true selves; anything that distances us from God's mercy or causes alienation. Our understanding of Sin, Grace, Redemption, is called Soteriology and is a rich field of study that is never... Continue Reading →
As parents, we are aware of our child’s growth in many ways. We measure their growth physically by the little lines that mark their height in our doorways or by the way they rapidly grow out of their clothes. We measure their academic progress by listening to them read aloud and discussing their report cards.... Continue Reading →
Imagine that today you are one of Jesus’ followers in the first century. You traveled a long way and arrived with several other followers to Jerusalem a few days ago. It is Passover, so the streets are jam packed with over 2 million pilgrims in a city that normally holds only 20,000 (according to the... Continue Reading →
So. How are all those “New Year’s Resolution” style Lenten disciplines going? Have we failed to follow the diet, stick with the exercise regimen, and begun yelling at the kids again? If you, like me, are mourning how hard and fast your perseverance fizzled and are eating a great big piece of humble pie this... Continue Reading →
Thomas Merton once said, “the rush and pressure of modern life is a pervasive form of contemporary violence.” In his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry, John Mark Comer asks "Can you imagine a hurried Jesus? Hurry kills all that we hold dear: spirituality, health, marriage, family, thoughtful work, creativity, generosity…name your value. Hurry is... Continue Reading →
I often get asked during the Lenten season “Does this count?" My answer is always the same: "The spiritual life is not about counting. But if you’re counting, it doesn’t count." Jesus was not about counting. Jesus was about transformation and that is what our Lenten disciplines are designed to lead us to. The first... Continue Reading →
We believers hold a very strong conviction that God wishes to communicate with us. God wishes us to hear how much we are loved, what a good and treasured creation we are, AND to direct us to what will bring us “life to the full.” How does God speak these beautiful truths to us and... Continue Reading →
One of our traditions most treasured mystics once said, "It is a lie - any talk of God that does not comfort you.” The way we conceive of our God; as hostile or loving, “on our team” or “the giant task master in the sky”, judge or defender, etc. effects our whole life. In a... Continue Reading →
If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me “I pray just fine at home. Why do I have to come to Church?” Well, I’d have a lot of nickels. In truth, we don’t “have” to come to church. The weird draw of our old-timey language about our “Sunday obligation” coupled with threats... Continue Reading →
I don’t know about you, but the first person to come to mind when we begin thinking about baptism, is John The Baptist. The authorities of Jesus’ day were puzzled by John the Baptist, They were confused about who he was and what he was doing. They even asked him “who are you? What do... Continue Reading →
Whenever people look for guidance laws are sure to follow. We start with general responsibilities like the Ten Commandments and then these general norms give birth to thousands of detailed behaviors. Regulations start to multiply on everything how to pray, how to bless food, what ritual to employ when visiting the sick, and so on.... Continue Reading →
In our Christian scriptures (aka The New Testament), the Greek word "kerygma" (pronounced kuh·rig·muh) means the public dissemination of a truth received from God. It is a proclamation – a message – a sharing and revelation of God among us. The epoch of our Christian kerygma, the high point of this message and revelation of... Continue Reading →
In the Jewish tradition Sabbath is the observance of a weekly day of rest rooted in the biblical account of God's day of rest after the creation of the heavens and the earth. For thousands of years, the Sabbath has been considered a celebratory day when the Jewish people (including Jesus and all the early... Continue Reading →
As you may or may not know, I work as a Director of Religious Education at a large suburban parish in the Detroit area. Recently, our Faith Formation and Education Department was renamed “Discipleship Formation.” My teenage daughter frowned when she heard this new name and said “discipleship? Sounds like a cult or something.” Quite... Continue Reading →
The parables we hear today in Luke 15: 1-32 speak to our deep longing for a sense of wholeness and belonging. By God’s design, all of creation is connected in ways that we couldn’t even begin to understand. Just like a bee is drawn to pollen and a flower turns towards the sun and soaks... Continue Reading →
As Christians, we remain "one" though we differ profoundly in a multitude of ways, such as; how we interpret church teaching, understand the role of conscience, discern God’s presence and acting in our unique life experiences. We share a core of unchanging, revealed truths (Dogmas) but we grow in our understanding of truth, and so... Continue Reading →
In the Gospel of Mark 9:30-37 Jesus speaks to his disciples and predicts his death - and the disciples are baffled and become afraid. Jesus can’t die! Why is Jesus spouting all this crazy talk? Then right after this, it says that the disciples started to argue about who was the greatest among them. Now, I... Continue Reading →
Nothing effects our ability to approach and draw nearer to God quite like our image of God. The way we conceive of our God - as hostile or loving, on our team or the giant task master in the sky, as judge or defender - our personal experience and understanding of God effects our whole... Continue Reading →
Many times in our scriptures Jesus seems to be pairing God’s forgiveness of us with our forgiveness of others. He says "The measure with which you measure will be measured back to you…” "Do not judge others, and God will not judge you"…Even in the Our Father, that we pray together each week, we ask... Continue Reading →
https://open.spotify.com/episode/0TScCLUNgruIyux4F9IdWT Theologian Fr. James Alison describes our common misunderstanding of Jesus’ death like this: "We sinned and offended God, so God was angry with humanity and demanded justice or some kind of payment for our blunder. But humanity couldn’t offer any kind of divine gift big enough to diffuse God’s anger since we are just lowly... Continue Reading →
According to John Shea, renowned theologian and professional storyteller, the parable of the Persistent Widow found in Luke 18:1-8 violates rule number one of good storytelling. The author of the Gospel of Luke tells us the moral of the story before telling us the story itself. It reads “Jesus told his disciples a parable about... Continue Reading →
According to John Shea, renowned theologian and professional storyteller, the parable of the Persistent Widow found in Luke 18:1-8 violates rule number one of good storytelling. The author of the Gospel of Luke tells us the moral of the story before telling us the story itself. It reads “Jesus told his disciples a parable about... Continue Reading →
This week let's consider and ponder the parable of The Mustard seed (Matthew 13:31–32) In order to understand this scripture, it’s important to put it in its first century context and ask ourselves "How would the first hearers of this comparison understood it?" https://open.spotify.com/episode/579CkDSxSm7c4SdPK8cTT5 Well, for the Israelites (the Jewish people) of Jesus’ time, there... Continue Reading →
Often I think we have this image of Jesus in our mind as this peaceful, gentle, pious and soft-spoken person. I’m sure at times, probably most times, Jesus was a very tender person, just like each of us. But without a doubt, Jesus was also a bit of a trouble-maker, a rabble rouser, a rebel. In... Continue Reading →
Fr. Ron Rolheiser says at the center of our lives there is an natural tension. On the one hand, “something in us wants to be different, wants to stand out; from the minute we’re born, we ache for our independence and uniqueness to be recognized. We don’t want to be the same as everyone else.... Continue Reading →
The parables of Jesus are little “stories with a mystery.” There is no “right” or “wrong” way to understand them - we are simply invited to ponder and tease them out a bit. For me, one of the more baffling parables is that of the Dishonest Steward or Manager found in Luke 16:1-13. https://open.spotify.com/episode/4qdItmuCVUE4FXTYXAI1Tq The... Continue Reading →
“The opposite of faith is not doubt but certainty.” – Paul Tillich I don’t think there is any other character in the bible that exemplifies our modern 21st century mindset and stance, better than St. Thomas, better known as “Doubting-Thomas.” As much as we may want to deny it or fight it, we all have... Continue Reading →
If you would rather listen than read, just below is an audio recording, or a video is a little further below: https://open.spotify.com/episode/759DKoYijWIxQJraahw0Oe Our Gospel reading from this past weekend (Mark 10:2-16) says that Jesus was “indignant.” I always thought that one became indignant when insulted, like when someone wounds your pride, but I was mistaken.... Continue Reading →
Theologian Elizabeth Johnson, CSJ, in her book, She Who Is, writes: “The fundamental sin is exploitation, whether it be expressed in the domination of male over female, white over black, rich over poor, strong over weak, armed military over unarmed civilians, human beings over nature. These abusive patterns interlock because they rest on the same... Continue Reading →
I've been to three funerals this week, and then we have Covid. The Anniversary of 9/11. Watching my parents, friends, and other relatives age and wane. Lots of time thinking about death. No one knows when the second coming of Jesus Christ will happen or what it will look like. Though countless predictions and dates... Continue Reading →
Strong Language
New essays on faith, language, and the life of the spirit — delivered free to your inbox.
Subscribe — it's free