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Mental health in a bonkers world
Hi friends, This week, I’d like to offer you a reflection from musician, author, and activist Andre Henry: Why Therapy Isn’t Enough, I Need a Revolution. I’d encourage you to read it, and I’d love to hear what you think. I often find myself thinking some similar thoughts. I think about how many of my…
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Doubting in Community (a sermon on John 20:19-31, part 2)
Hi friends, Last week I posted the first half of a sermon on “Doubting Thomas.” This is the second half! ___ I noticed something else, too, when reflecting on this passage—something I hadn’t really thought much about before. I noticed that there’s a whole week in between when Jesus appears to the first group of…
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Spiritual conversations and the Samaritan woman (reflections on John 4:1-26)
Hi friends, A couple weeks back, my church’s sermon and small group discussions centered on the (sadly unnamed) Samaritan woman at the well, and her conversation with Jesus as told in John 4:1-26. At our small group meeting, I happened to pick up a version of the Bible that has Jesus’ words in red letters.…
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Magi, Wisdom, People Younger Than Me
Note: This week and next week I have the privilege of sharing some scripture and life reflections with my church community via our weekly newsletter. I’ve been asked to reflect on the theme of epiphany – what do I feel like God is revealing to me, and what do I do with that? I wanted…
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Advent prayer: Release
A poem/prayer, reflecting on the theme “release.” I’ve been reading an indigenous memoir called The Woman Who Watches Over the World, by Linda Hogan. One of the things Hogan says happened when she was in the hospital recovering from a traumatic brain injury was that she asked all the questions that had gone unasked and…
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Reflections on 20 years of friendship
A close friend from high school passed away unexpectedly in an accident the Sunday before last, and I’ve been thinking about them a lot. I sat down a few days ago and wrote what turned out to be over 5000 words of memories and reflections on their life and our friendship. I’ll spare you the…
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Switch those seats (reflections on Luke 14:1,7-14)
On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely. When he noticed how the guests chose the places of honor, he told them a parable. “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do…
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Why do you worry?
And why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin… -Jesus (Matthew 6:28, NRSV) Here’s another angle on Jesus’ words about worry: What if Jesus’ question why do you worry? isn’t a purely rhetorical question? What if it’s an actual invitation to ask ourselves:…
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How Far We Were
How Far We Were I did not know how far we were from one another til 2020 blasted into light the light years that had always been between us, like a looking glass intent on showing wrinkled scars where we expected to see youth. Sometimes I wish I did not know how much we do…
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Each one with their neighbor
Here is a literal translation of Ephesians 4:25: “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, (y’all) speak truth, each one with his/her/their neighbor, because we are members of one another.” I’m interested in the part about speaking truth, each one with their neighbor. Some translations try to make this part sound more natural in English, which is nice,…