Category Ruminations
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 […]
Sounds of hope, or death rattle?
What did I hear this afternoon, sounds of hope for a major Christian denomination (The United Methodist Church) that has been verging toward schism, or the death rattle of one whose vital signs are tanking? Death rattle, n. : a rattling or gurgling sound produced by air passing through mucus in the lungs and air […]
On choices in the wilderness
What are you living for? When Martha was distracted by many things, Jesus told her that only one thing is essential (Luke 10:41-42). What is your one essential thing? A meaningful life is not a matter of how many things you do or how fast and efficiently you do them; it’s a matter of what […]
On love for one’s enemies
Sometimes it seems Jesus expects too much of us. The invitation he offers makes the life of discipleship look pretty good. When we look closer, however, things look different. Jesus promises “more and better life than [you] ever dreamed of” (John 10:10 MSG). He says: Don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing; […]
On blessings and woes
Call it what you will – the reign of God, the kingdom of heaven, the more and better life than you ever dreamed of having (John 10:10 MSG) – the quality of life you’ve been yearning for is right under your nose, and most of us never see it (Gosp. Thomas 113). Why don’t we? […]
A homily for Michael Collins
A homily delivered on 19 January 2019 at the memorial service for Michael Wesley Collins at Central Park United Methodist Church, Buffalo, New York. “O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, / our shelter from the stormy blast, and our eternal home!” Today, especially today, we seek shelter from […]
When you’re desperate enough
How desperate do you feel? Thoreau believed most people “lead lives of quiet desperation” (Walden, “Economy”), not the frantic desperation of someone who’s in imminent danger, but the subtler kind, the low-level anxiety that slowly eats away at us. We may pretend it doesn’t exist, but once in a while it bubbles up and lets […]
On keeping Christmas
Now is not the time to let down your guard. The Grinch who stole into town on Christmas Eve to steal Christmas was not the real threat. He was only a diversion. And he turned out to be a pretty ineffective one. It’s the other Grinch who is the real threat. You’ll remember that the […]
