Have you ever experienced the desert? Real desert, where the sun beats down on your head and glares back up in your eyes as it bounces off the burning sand? For those of us who have always lived in a land of bush and beach, it can be challenging to “get” what life in the […]
From Desert to Garden (Isaiah 35:1-10) Read More »
Have you ever considered just how shocking and counter-cultural Advent really is? While our supermarket soundtracks lull us into a dreamland of sleighbells and snow, the church calendar yells “Wake up! Our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed!” “Have yourself a merry little Christmas, let your hearts be light” murmurs cosily and
The Serious Road of Advent Read More »
We remember—or experience afresh through the eyes of our children or grandchildren— thatpassionate longing for Christmas morning. I like to think of this longing as a little shadowthat should point us to a greater anticipation. In today’s Epistle reading the Apostle Paul callsus a state of tip-toe reaching, breath-holding, hope-laden expectation: “the hour has alreadycome
Our Salvation is Near (Rom. 13:11-12) Read More »
We live in a world where the old adage holds painfully true: “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” No matter what continent you live on, or what ethnic or political group you belong to, it is devastatingly common for rulers to bully, bribe, and brag their way into positions of authority. Because of this,
I wonder if you remember the first time you thought about the end of the world? I was the poster child of apocalyptic anxiety—the kid who would cry herself to sleep because the rapture might happen in the night… and I might be left behind. I may have been extreme, but I doubt I am
The End of the World Read More »
If we’re totally honest, we’re not always certain we want heaven. To be sure, there are times when we ache inconsolably for the world to be made right, for evil to be destroyed and every tear wiped away. But then, there are other times when, if we’re really honest, what we read in Scripture of
When We Don’t Desire Heaven Read More »
Have you ever noticed how many of the gospel stories happen in the context of hospitality? Again and again, we see Jesus in the intimate space of an opened home, sitting around a shared table. It is here, time and again, that Jesus reveals himself, bringing his life and light into the lives of those
Saving Hospitality (Luke 19:1-10) Read More »
Several years back, I had the great joy of working as a children’s minister in a church. In many ways, it was an incredible job. But it was never one I would call comfortable. From trying to run an adventure camp for a raucous group of preteens (without anyone landing in A&E…) to answering a
“Let the little children come” Read More »