Good Friday is dark. The compassionate, merciful, God-man dies a criminal's death at the hands of religious and political leaders. The Messiah, full of despair and feeling deserted by God the Father, cries out, "My God, why have you forsaken me?" Even the earth wept and quaked. Yet somehow, we call it good. Emil Brunner, […]

I recently read the story of Judas, the backstabber, one of Jesus' closest friends. The moral majority of his day paid Judas to conspire with them to arrest Jesus. After this collusion was initiated, Jesus served the Passover meal (what we now call the Last Supper) to his disciples---including Judas. As I read this story […]

The Blessing of the Old Woman, The Tulip, and the Dog To be blessed said the old woman is to live and work so hard God's love washes right through you like milk through a cow *** To be blessed said the dark red tulip is to knock their eyes out with the slug of […]

I love me some Freddy Buechner, a Presbyterian pastor with a knack for turning a phrase. The smallest acts of kindness, even circumscribed within our own families, can, as Buechner says, "set the whole thing trembling." Kindness can change the world. Listen to how Buechner puts it: "Humanity is like an enormous spider web, so […]

I wrote this 8 years ago. It brings me great joy to re-share today. ********* I want to give you a glimpse into my life. For those who know me this story will not surprise. For those who think you know me this story will help you know me better. I was shopping for groceries […]

Confession: I am still in my LL Bean flannel pajamas in front of a roaring fire. It is well past morning. I am thinking about a concept called "idleness aversion." Idleness aversion is something the German sociologist Max Weber called "one of the core ingredients of the modern soul." Oliver Burkeman defines it as "not […]