The great Swiss theologian Karl Barth said, "To clasp the hands in prayer is the beginning of an uprising against the disorder of the world." I wish I actually believed that. Because if I did, I would never unclasp my hands. I am just being honest here. My heart jumps at the sentiment of Barth's […]

"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 […]

A brief thought or poem for the weekend, friends ... "If something comes toward you with grace and can pass through you and toward others with grace, you can trust it as the voice of God." (Richard Rohr)

Oh let's take a day, shall we? Yes, the world is aflame with hate and war and greed and devastation. We acknowledge this, we look at it straight on and our hearts break. We lift up our hands to you, God, and we pray the only prayer that makes any sense in these times: "Help! […]

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 ... "There must be someone to live through it all and bear witness to the fact that God lived, even in these times." (Etty Hillesum, Diaries - Murdered in 1943 in Auschwitz)