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
The advice comes in different forms. It’s very pronounced in the Christian tradition. The New Testament letter to the ancient church in Philippi (chapter 2, verse 3) says it this way: “Think of others as better than yourself.” Throughout the letter to the ancient church in Rome, Paul writes repeatedly… Read More »The Problem of Ego in Spiritual Growth
There’s something truly remarkable about it. I find myself watching for a few minutes each morning. I open the blinds to the window in my study and look out to the yard and find six or eight squirrels scurry about as a sun comes over the horizon. It’s not that… Read More »The Wonder of Being
Of all the people with whom I’ve worked, Rosie is someone who left a clear impression on me. If you saw Rosie on the street, you’d probably give her some extra room and avoid eye contact. But if you had the opportunity to know her, she was a kind and… Read More »From Fear to Possibility
One of the lessons many of us learned at a young age was to say please and thank-you. While teaching a child these simple words is meant to help the child learn to be polite in their interactions with others, expressing thanks — gratitude — is a significant attribute for… Read More »Leaning Into Gratitude
