Dec 12
Over the years I have witnessed and participated in a variety of Christmas pageants (I made a good furry sheep) and have seen plenty of Nativity crèches, from tiny wooden ornaments to “live” representations. I largely accepted the scenes as moderately accurate. I eventually learned that despite the common appearance of three Magi in the …
Dec 06
When I look at the news headlines, I almost always see accounts of discord and power struggles, which catch our attention because of our aversion to pain and conflict. The global history of wars speaks of the human tendency to seek power, yet there remains a deep desire to live in a place of peace. …
Nov 14
When reading the Beatitudes, the descriptions of those being blessed often seem lofty (I know my focus is not always on righteousness) or unpalatable (whose goal is it to be meek and mourning?). We all know that no one is perfect, so the next statement appears out of our reach. Jesus said: “Blessed are the …
Nov 10
Have you noticed the cyclical patterns of relationships? It can go two directions: When one person demeans another, the recipient will often react negatively and hurtfully, giving more grounds for hard feelings, a pattern of conflict gradually escalating as the lists of wrongs grow longer. One the other hand, a display of kindness can spark …
Oct 27
I just read in the news that between 1990 and 2014 the percentage of people going hungry in this world has dropped from 18.7% of the total population to 11.3%. An incredible global effort has been reaching out to those who hunger and thirst, because of the fundamental nature of these needs. While this pattern …
Oct 21
As we read through the Beatitudes (so far covering the poor in spirit and those who mourn), we encounter a word I don’t hear very often in daily conversation: Meek. Jesus used this word, also translated at gentle or humble, to draw a fairly strong conclusion: “Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the …
Oct 21
We’ve started talking about the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus begins his longest recorded sermon by diving right in to descriptions of people found in that kingdom (poor in spirit, mourning, meek, merciful, etc.), which sound much more like people on this earth than those experiencing eternal bliss. Yet, his statements of how such individuals are …
Oct 13
When you hear the word “heaven,” what comes to mind? It seems in today’s culture we have created a general association with dazzling light above the clouds, perhaps with a stairway leading to it, a gate at its entrance, and/or some angels playing harps. While some of these ideas are based on biblical references …
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