Tag Archives: Compassion

Tomorrow

Posted on May 12, 2017 by

Tomorrow would have been my daughter’s 36th birthday. It snuck up in me, busy as I’ve been. But a look at the calendar today, and that number 13 jumped out. Is it really May already? Are we here again? What … Continue reading →

Posted in Grief, Hope, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Thinking in stories

Posted on April 28, 2017 by

We are creatures who think in stories. Confusion and anxiety reign when we can’t figure out the story line. It locates us. It gives meaning to our past, shapes our understanding of the present and gives direction for the future. Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The journey to our humanity

Posted on April 13, 2017 by

A reflection as we  begin Maundy Thursday Tonight we begin the worship service that stretches over these next three days and walks us anew through the death and resurrection of Jesus. This service not only sets before us the story … Continue reading →

Posted in Easter, Holy Week, Our true humanity, Spirituality | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Let us pray for wisdom

Posted on March 18, 2017 by

It’s not possible to remember everything. With time memories slip away. Fragments remain. And the love remains. At least, that’s what should remain. I am heartened by those who turn their sorrow into kindness. I am saddened by those who turn it into bitterness. But I understand, most of us have stood at one time or another at that fork in the road where those two paths diverge Continue reading →

Posted in Grief, Hope | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Christ among the faithful

Posted on January 1, 2017 by

Christ comes into the world among God’s faithful people. It is among God’s faithful that Christ is revealed. Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Christmas, Sermons | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The reign of peace

Posted on December 3, 2016 by

And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. –Colossians 3:15 Continue reading →

Posted in Advent Devotions, Christian Life, Christianity, Reflections on the Scriptures | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tone deaf

Posted on November 11, 2016 by

We have so far to go to understand, let alone keep, such a simple command as “love your neighbor as yourself.” Continue reading →

Posted in American Society, Christianity, Our true humanity | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

I worry about the country

Posted on October 28, 2016 by

I worry about the country. Problems go untended as we call each other names. It reminds me of households I have known. And congregations. Businesses, too, I suppose, though my experience there is mostly limited to the relationship between labor … Continue reading →

Posted in American Society, Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

It’s not simple

Posted on October 22, 2016 by

I am not the kind of person who can give simple answers. I have heard them. I have heard people say them to one another. I have heard them say them to me. “She’s with God now.” And this is true. This is profoundly true. It is the heart of what we come together to do on this day – to symbolically entrust Kerstin into the arms of God. But it is not simple. Continue reading →

Posted in Christianity, Grief, Hope, The Word of God | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Compassion and risk

Posted on September 20, 2016 by

The metaphor about the skittles recently tweeted by Donald Trump Jr. is wrong. Given a choice, I wouldn’t eat from a bowl if there were three poisoned skittles. But the tension in that metaphor is between pleasure and risk, whereas the tension with regard to Syrian refugees is between compassion and risk. Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Life, Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment