"Everything depends on how we read, on how we enter the magic circle of a text's meaning; on how we smuggle ourselves into its words, and all the texture of a text to weave its web around us." (Michael Fishbaine) May you enter the magic circle of today's Psalm, smuggle yourself into its words and […]
The great pastor and theologian, Eugene Peterson, said: "God hears anything we whisper or shout, say or sing. Right words and correct forms are not prerequisite to a heavenly audience. God is not fastidious in these matters." Thank God, right? Prayer can be any form of utterance we throw out into the universe. God is […]
A brief thought or poem for the weekend, friends ... Pamela Greenberg's beautiful translation of the Psalms leaves me speechless. Her version of part of Psalm 27 lives in my heart these days: Don't give me over to the breath of my fears. For distortions in the name of truth, they breathe out visions of […]
I love listening to broken people talk about God. There is no moralizing, no pontificating, no fake humility about how they are just so blessed. Just. So. Blessed. Give me a good alcoholic who has to try every day to stay on the wagon, give me someone who has had their heart broken once or […]
I have noticed in my decades as a pastor that more people than not have a troubled relationship with God. Rather than experiencing God as love and loving, we experience God as judgmental and judging. This dramatically impacts how we live, whether we realize it or not. A couple quotes got me thinking about this. […]
Straight up Padraig O'Tuama today, no commentary. The Zulus have it right, though, in one of their names for God. They call God uNkulunkulu, translating loosely as Big-Big. When I heard that, I wondered at the genius who began to speak of the unnameable in such a way, and then I thought of my friend […]
