8/5/10: In my Lectio Divina group today, we read Hebrews 10:14 – “By virtue of that one single offering, He has achieved the eternal perfection of all whom He is sanctifying.” Eternal perfection. My response was an incredulous, “Even me?” After all these years, knowing my continuing imperfection, I still struggle to believe – really [...]
Perfection
August 6, 2010
Saints
August 6, 2010
8/5/10: Saints. One of those subjects that make for contention among the major branches of Christendom. As an Anglo-Catholic with distinctly Protestant roots, I am right there at the place where the trunk of catholic (universal) Christianity divides into Catholic and Protestant; and that leaves me with an internal debate on the subject of saints. [...]
Love
July 5, 2010
I have an assignment to write a short story themed on “love.” What a huge topic! How can I say anything new about it? How can I come up with a story that is not smarmy and trite? The more I think about it, the more it seems to me that everything is love – [...]
Puzzle Pieces
June 4, 2010
It is to me a marvel, the way seemingly disparate sources give us puzzle pieces that fit together into a unified whole. I seem to be developing a whole cosmology (or is the Spirit teaching me?) out of bits of various readings. Awhile back, in N.T. Wright’s Simply Christian and Surprised by Hope, I found [...]
Skunks and Such
May 12, 2010
Driving over to church today, we passed a dead skunk by the side of the road. It occurred to me that skunks are really quite pretty animals, with their shiny black fur and crisp white stripes. Then, of course, I thought of their smell. As far as I know, there is no creature that likes, [...]
Social Activism
March 11, 2010
Recently, on a friend’s blog (see “Thoughts on God and Life” in my links list), a heated discussion took place about the value of social activism in a Christian’s life. Opinions ranged from assertions that social activism is THE business of every Christian, to assertions that an over-emphasis on it presents a great risk to ”true” Christian [...]
More Lent
March 10, 2010
Okay, so we are well into it. How are you doing? I think I like the route I’ve chosen, which is an amalgam of different practices, some only done once a week. Probably the most meaningful has been memorizing Psalm 84. I have never been much into memorizing scripture, but my eyes are opened. In [...]
Life in Prison
February 21, 2010
I talked today with a young man I know who is in prison for life. Whenever I see him or hear from him, I am struck anew by the tragedy of a man’s whole life lived literally in a small cage, without opportunity to work, learn, create, produce – except as he can scrape together [...]
Light
February 4, 2010
Reading the creation story in Genesis, I suddenly pictured myself tucked safely under God’s arm, watching as He worked, day by day calling more and more of His universe into being. “Let there be light,” He said. Now, I can conceive of utter darkness, no-light. But what would it be, from eternal darkness, when there [...]
Lent
February 4, 2010
Lent is coming. February 17. A time for being intentional about clearing away some of the obstacles between ourselves and God. There is a standard practice of giving up something – chocolate, alcohol – for the forty days (minus Sundays) before Easter. I’m not sure what that does for one’s closeness to God; I suppose [...]
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