Gratitude
The theologian, Karl Barth was fond of saying that the basic human response to God is gratitude—not fear and trembling, not guilt and dread, but gratefulness. “What else can we say to what God gives us but stammer praise?[1]Gratitude opens us to awe. A heart turned toward gratitude comes to see the goodness and grace […]
What is faith?
3 Put your trust in the Lord and do good; * dwell in the land and feed on its riches. 4 Take delight in the Lord, * and he shall give you your heart’s desire. 5 Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, * and he will bring it to pass. (Psalm 37:3-5) We were supposed to be […]
God’s Gift of Grace
Alright friends, let’s be honest with each other. Have you ever read a portion of scripture, particularly from the Gospels, and been like, “Eghhh…I really don’t like this passage. I don’t really like what Jesus has to say here.” Well? Do I have some nodding heads here or are y’all too shy to admit what […]
In Christ, all are kin
“I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective when you perceive all the good that we may do in Christ.” Three Sundays ago, my copy of the New York Times landed on my doorstep. Following worship and our time of fellowship, I couldn’t wait to get home to dive into the interesting […]
At God’s Table There is a Place for All
Hallelujah!Happy are they who fear the Lord *and have great delight in his commandments! One of the early things I noticed when Sey and I moved to the Berkshires was that people who were homeless did not gather on the streets or sleep in the doorways of churches or stores, or stand near stoplights asking for […]
Jesus Sets Us Free
The Lord will guide you continually, and satisfy your needs in parched places, and make your bones strong; and you shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters never fail. (Isaiah 58) We do not know her name. We know nothing about her family or her home life. But we can imagine her. A […]
Lord Teach us to Pray
1 I will give thanks to you, O Lord, with my whole heart; * 4 When I called, you answered me; *you increased my strength within me. (Psalm 138: 1,4) Prayer has been a constant in my life. I grew up in church where there were prayers offered in word and in song. Adults invited me to pray in […]
The Fierce Urgency of Now
O Lord, you are my portion and my cup; *it is you who uphold my lot. I have set the Lord always before me; *because he is at my right hand I shall not fall. (Psalm 16:5 and 8) On April 4, 1967 as our country was engaged in a battle for the human rights of all its […]
Breaking Our Chains and Shackles
Be not far away, O Lord; *you are my strength; hasten to help me. Our story today from the Gospel of Luke is found in all three synoptic Gospels—Matthew, Mark and Luke-synoptic meaning containing similar or the same stories and point of view. Jesus has decided to cross the lake. This lake is not what comes […]
Everywhere God
To the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us, with the Father that made and created us, and the Son that redeemed us, be given all honour and glory, world without end. Thomas Cranmer Richard Rohr begins his most recent book, The Universal Christ[1],with a story from an autobiography of the twentieth century English mystic, Caryll Houselander. The story […]