Crucifixion: truly a brutal, violent way to kill another human being. A person hangs naked on a cross with lungs filling with fluid, struggling to breathe, and then succumbing after hours of struggle to the inevitable last gasp and death. All the while, one’s suffering is a public spectacle. Such… Read More »Make Sense of the Crucifixion of Jesus
I have several friends who no longer call themselves “Christian.” It’s not that they’ve lost their faith or given up on God or something like that. Instead, they don’t want to be associated with the narrow-minded, judgmental folks who present themselves as the “true Christians” of today. (You know the… Read More »The Christianity of Jesus
The Bible is filled with stories that convey important lessons about how to live. I think we often miss the best lessons in Biblical stories and have gravitated toward convenient conclusions from these stories. An outstanding example of this is a story I learned in my childhood from the Hebrew… Read More »Ancient Wisdom
I recently met the parents of a good friend. I enjoyed spending time with them, sharing a meal, and witnessing the joy they shared as a couple. I’m not sure how long they’ve been married but I’d guess it’s been at least fifty years. Clearly, their marriage is a successful… Read More »Success Stories
It’s a stark image, one familiar to Christians who observe the time of Lent and Good Friday. Jesus hangs on a cross. On either side of him are two other criminals who also received a death sentence. As the gospel writer known as Luke conveys, one criminal who shares this… Read More »Pain and Paradise
People started asking me the question the day before Ash Wednesday: what are you giving up for Lent? It seems that the time before Easter known as Lent has become synonymous with giving up or fasting from day to day pleasures, like candy, the use of social media, or… Read More »Giving for Lent
It’s an odd year. It happened like this in 1945. It happened again in 2018. It just doesn’t happen often. Now it’s happening again: Ash Wednesday falls on February 14 — Valentine’s Day. While there are lots of jokes being made about the coincidence online, I look at this unique happenstance of… Read More »An Ash Valentine’s Day
Work-Life Balance. It’s a popular concept. Many business magazines and other publications have lists of recommendations to improve a person’s work-life balance. The idea is that the time and effort put into work has to be balanced with life. It’s a strategy to avoid becoming what used to be called… Read More »The Deception of Work-Life Balance
