Category Ruminations
Whitman at 200, no. 2
The mystical presence of God was celebrated by the earliest Christians. Saint Paul knew God as the One in whom “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), there being nothing that is not of God. Jesus said the kingdom of God is spread upon the earth and we don’t see it (Gosp. […]
In the time between
The folks at Paul Masson wineries used to say, “We will sell no wine before it’s time.” It was their assurance that they were offering the real deal: a high-quality wine, not a cheap imitation pretending to be wine. It takes time to create a fine wine or anything else of value, especially good ministry […]
Three simple rules
We are hungry, and we live among hungry people in a hungry world. Most people in the world are hungry for food in ways I have never known, though one day I may, but that’s not the kind of hunger I’m thinking of. I’m thinking of a deeper hunger, the hunger of the heart for […]
Aging toward saging
“For everything there is a season,” the Teacher said, “and a time for every matter under heaven: a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted. [God] has made everything suitable for its time” (Eccles. 3:1-2, 11a). Now that I’ve come […]
Easter, not where you think
It’s easy I think (though it seems not so easy for some), in the predawn birdsong of early spring, to pause in gratitude for the annual renewal of the earth. William Alexander Percy thought no one could listen long to that song, “A song so mystical and calm, / So full of certainties,” except on […]
On looking for the ocean
It’s a great metaphor for the spiritual journey, that an airliner is off course more than ninety-eight percent of the time. Countless variables are at work making it drift from its intended flight path. The thing is, the pilots are making constant course corrections, small control adjustments that bring the plane to its intended destination. […]
On growing toward wholeness
Like a menu from a New Jersey diner, there’s something for everyone in what we know as the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). We could look at it through the lens of the elder son, who followed the rules and did what was expected of him, and we could understand his irritation when […]
On bearing fruit for God
Are you happy? The likelihood that you are is decreasing every year. According to a United Nations report released Wednesday, Americans are only the nineteenth happiest people in the world, a position that has declined steadily for the last three years. The ranking was based on six key variables: gross domestic product per capita, social […]
On becoming fully human
Last week I invited you to name the one essential thing you’re living for. What is your single, compelling purpose in life, the one that guides your large and small choices every day? Can you state your answer in one short sentence? It wouldn’t be fair to ask that question of you if I weren’t […]
