Tag Archives: identity

Then and now

November 10, 2019 · by · in Ruminations · Leave a comment

Look at a piece of coal, and what do you see? Merely a piece of coal, a bit of fuel for grilling burgers? Or do you see the plants and processes that made that coal? Do you see fire to forge a plow; and the crops that will follow in season; and the families those […]

A little R&R

September 8, 2019 · by · in Ruminations · Leave a comment

Did Jesus really say we can’t be his disciple if we don’t give up all our possessions (Luke 14:33)? Think how hard it would be if we did that. How would you hold your breakfast cereal? How would you brush your teeth in the morning? If that’s what he meant, there would be a lot […]

Are you the one?

May 12, 2019 · by · in Ruminations · Leave a comment

It’s a simple question, and you will spend your whole life answering it: Who are you? Are you the person others expect you to be, or are you an authentically original expression of God? Will you live in such a way that you leave others no choice but to decide: Will they live as their […]

On getting to know the Sirens

June 25, 2017 · by · in Ruminations · Leave a comment

“You are worried and distracted by many things.” The words have dogged me for decades. Jesus addressed them to Martha when she tried to triangulate him into settling her disagreement with Mary about some after-dinner chores (Luke 10:38-42), but they keep hitting their mark in me. So do the ones that followed, “there is need […]

Mary’s question

March 19, 2017 · by · in Notes · Leave a comment

Mary Oliver’s question keeps returning. “Tell me, what is it you plan to do / with your one wild and precious life?” Like the question from Thomas Merton, “If you want to identify me, ask me not where I live or what I like to eat or how I comb my hair, but ask me […]

The use of money, part 2

September 25, 2016 · by · in Uncategorized · Leave a comment

Enough small talk. No more chatter about what team we favor for the playoffs, or which apple we think makes the best pie, or what we like to do in our free time. If we’re going to know one another, Thomas Merton – if we take him seriously, and if we take our life seriously […]