Folks will come at the appointed hour dutifully, happily visit a bit, then settle into their familiar pews expectant, ready for a song, a prayer, a word or two of inspiration to nourish their steady faith for a few more days. Where are the words? They are tangled up, bound, uneasy, resistant to casual exploitation. Feeble, not equal to the task nor strong enough to … Continue reading Sunday Morning Confession
Sometimes, while writing the weekly sermon, other ideas swirl and prod, but editing is critical, and they don’t make it into the final draft. Some of them linger. This is one idea that persisted and emerged in a poem, having pondered Philippians 3:13–“forgetting what lies behind, reaching out for what lies ahead…” I rescued one teacup to honor Grandmother hid it among the quilts I … Continue reading Over the Mountain
Eclipse fever cast its own eclipse over the United States this month. It was cloudy and rainy locally, so the untimely darkness was our only indication of the phenomenon. Listening to the recordings of people as they experienced the veiling of the sun was enough to bring tears to my eyes. Their cries of astonishment and delight had me almost as captivated as they … Continue reading Beauty Eclipses the Tension
My thoughts on Marie Howe’s poem “The Gate” “I had no idea that the gate I would step through to finally enter this world would be the space my brother’s body made.” I feel sometimes as though the gate I step through to see the world is my mother’s smile. I feel my lips forming her smile and feel my eyes turning into hers, twinkling … Continue reading About “The Gate”
This month I enjoyed hiking with friends in the Rocky Mountains near Estes Park. As hiking “veterans,” sometimes we devise ways to entertain ourselves on the long hikes back to the trail head. For example, once we challenged each other to name movies or books beginning with every letter of the alphabet. During one hike this year, we overheard some young women talking about mathematics … Continue reading Snatches
Here in northwest Iowa we have been conducting an experiment for the past few months. A colleague and I started a dialogue group to create a space for gracious conversation about issues that affect everyone, so we mostly talk about politics. Almost everybody I know felt beat up after the presidential election of 2016. It didn’t matter whether your candidate of choice won or not. … Continue reading Succeeding at Civility
Texts: Leviticus 16: 3, 5-11, 15-16, 20-22; Matthew 27:50-51 “The Old Rugged Cross” is a hymn I sang at many bedsides while I was a nursing home chaplain. It might seem like just another dusty old hymn to teenagers, but it is a beloved classic for me and for many of you who were born long before me. The familiar refrain says, … Continue reading Atonement Reconsidered
Please come with me on a tour of the neighborhood in Sebenikoro, a suburb and poor cousin of Bamako, the capital of Mali. We will be tagging along with my friend Maly “Bibi” Sangho, director of the Ase Mali Orphanage. I arise while it is still dark to meet with her for prayer. She greets me at my bedroom door and asks me whether I … Continue reading Praying Through the Neighborhood
A child flies a kite made from discarded plastic bags. Toddlers stretch their arms toward me, their eyes begging for me to pick them up. A never-ending drum beat advertises a wedding celebration a few houses away. Scores of people gather in a neighboring house for the six-month-anniversary prayer gathering to remember the deceased, the women cooking huge pots of rice and beans over charcoal … Continue reading Flying Kites in Sebenikoro
“Be still, and know that I am God.” For many of us in ministry, this can be a challenge. There is so much to do! But if I take it to heart, if I turn from the clamor and haste for quiet moments in God’s presence, I find that I cannot do without the silent, slow pauses that restore my heart. Some years ago I … Continue reading In the Labyrinth But Not Alone
