My Dear Friend, When I woke up on Christmas morning, I thought of John 1:5. It was a rare gift for me to have only one thought, not plagued by a system of worries and threats and to lie awake — even for a short time — with just this one thought. “The light shines…
You, the Holy, beckon but are just out of reach. Your light calls and continues beckoning. Are you still there? Sounds of silent screams fill the space where there is no light within me — tugging at my heart, filling voids in my heart with lies. Sunrays begin to stream in, beckoning, inspiring, lingering, loitering…
In the Northern hemisphere, today is the shortest day of the year, the day when we experience the least sunlight. We’re still in the season of Advent, the season of longing and hope. Even if the preparations and Christmas celebrations of this season have had you feeling busy and stressed, you still have time to…
As we walk along, feet stir dust and crack tiny twigs—once members of a great tree they now lie as individuals dismissed, forgotten. The brightness of once-was is waning as green fades into yellow and the decay of vibrancy is apparent in the log, the stump, the browning ferns drooping toward the ground. The world…
An old building in disrepair, collapsing toward the ground. A rusting, defective car, stuck in layers of mud. Shattered glass. Melting candle. Cracked eggshells. Chipped ceramics. The sight of the simplest crack in a sidewalk can still my body, stun my soul. The colors and textures of a simple, broken branch can inspire poetry. It may…
I am gripping ski poles through fleece-lined mittens, my feet secured to cross-country skis. My arms and legs slide back and forth, propelling me forward along the trail. I have only been in these woods on this bright Saturday morning for about 10 minutes, but my warm breath is already fogging up my thick glasses….
Lately a certain Gospel instruction is has been grinding challenge into my life, really giving my heart a doozy of a talking to. Jesus says it a lot, in many different ways: Do not be afraid. (Luke 1:30; Mark 5:36; Mark 6:50) Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? (Matthew 6:27)…
I don’t know why it is, this time of year, that I gear up for action. Once Daylight Saving Time ends, I’m ready to go. Most people tend to simmer down when the cold weather seeps in, the nights get longer, the house gets cozier, and the soups just sound more delicious. I’m ready to get…
A few weeks ago, one of my cousins committed suicide. It was a shock to all of us who knew and loved him. His death still remains sad and painful for many of us. Personally, the experience of suffering with my family taught me much about the power of God’s love. In a new way…
For us Christians, our life is a life full of paradoxes. Heaven is now and not yet. Jesus is with us always and is coming again. During Advent, we celebrate paradoxes while remembering that we are people of light and darkness. Suffering and joy are both part of the fullness of the human experience. The Nativity story also speaks of thick darkness…
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