Being Christian Without Losing Your Mind
“You have heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away and returning to you.’” — John 14:28 The spiritual life, for me, is filled with ups and downs. There are times when everything clicks and you feel Jesus’ closeness, but most of the time he seems far away. It’s like the Transfiguration story. You’re walking along …
Who put wisdom in remote places, or who gave understanding to a rooster… –Job 38:36 …or to a mama sparrow? I’m amazed each spring how Mr. and Ms. House Sparrow take up residence on our front porch. They build/mend the nest by the porch light with the meticulousness of a surgeon. Then mama fritters and fusses until three …
“And don’t lead us into temptation, but rescue us from the evil one.” — Matthew 6:13 In the typical turbulence of teenhood, I remember very well looking ahead in life and imagining what the world would offer. Money, fun, etc. The future was wide open and, in the optimism (or folly) of youth, I could …
It seemed very bad to Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us,” so he prayed to the Lord. The Lord answered Samuel, “Comply with the people’s request—everything they ask of you—because they haven’t rejected you. No, they’ve rejected me as king over them.” — 1 Samuel 8:6-7 It’s shaping up to be quite an …
God saw everything he had made: it was supremely good. — Genesis 1:31 A recurring theme in these meditations is that it is impossible be truly spiritual if we lose touch with the physical. In a talk given by Father Richard Rohr, he stressed the absolute importance of connecting to the earth. “One of the …
Let the person who has ears, hear. — Matthew 11:15 I love this phrase “fearlessly listening,” coined by Henri Nouwen. He said it characterized how Jesus related to his Father. Wouldn’t it be transformative if it also characterized how we related to each other? Active listening involves two things: Focusing on what the person is saying instead …
When I came to you, brothers and sisters, I didn’t come preaching God’s secrets to you like I was an expert in speech or wisdom. I had made up my mind not to think about anything while I was with you except Jesus Christ, and to preach him as crucified. — 1 Corinthians 2:1-2 Recently I …
Let those who want me dead be humiliated and put to shame. Let those who intend to hurt me be thoroughly frustrated and disgraced. Let them be like dust on the wind–and let the Lord’s messenger be the one who does the blowing! — Psalm 35:4-6 Probably if we were honest, the above words from …
I praise the Lord–let the suffering listen and rejoice. — Psalm 34:2, CEB My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad. — Psalm 34:2, NRSV It’s always struck me that beginning worship with a big song or songs that are upbeat and praisy can disconnect with people. Imagine …
Instead, desire first and foremost God’s kingdom and God’s righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. — Matthew 6:33 The concept of center of gravity was brought home to me very early in life. When I was around 20 I was asked to drive the church bus as part of my summer …