I talk to my friend every few weeks. We met over twenty years ago when we lived in the same city. Now we live at opposite ends of the country, so our contact is mostly by phone and email. Every few weeks, we have a long conversation in which we… Read More »Finding Hope
It’s difficult not to be discouraged. There’s no way to escape it. The problems of the world are huge. It seems like many people are hell-bent to make them worse. In the US, the pandemic is out of control and political corruption is at an all-time high. These serious concerns… Read More »Discouraging Times: Can We Say All Will Be Well?
Over the last month, I’ve had video call conversations with over two dozen individuals I’ve never met in person. They are all graduate students enrolled in doctoral programs at the university where I teach. They live throughout North America and have been sheltering at home under various kinds of restrictions. … Read More »Suffering in Our Time
Many churches will not have services this week. In the case of churches continuing to hold services, many people will opt not to attend for health concerns. As a way to support the spiritual journey of Christians during this Lenten Season, for the remaining Sundays of Lent, I will post… Read More »Reflections on The Raising of Lazarus
My partner and I decided that we should support family-owned restaurants in our area. By not having seating patrons, many restaurants are experiencing a loss of business. We went to one of our favorite places: a Laotian restaurant about a 20-minute drive from our home. We pulled up and found… Read More »The Pandemic and Layers of Grief
Many churches will not have services this week. In the case of churches continuing to hold services, many people will opt not to attend for health concerns. As a way to support the spiritual journey of Christians during this Lenten Season, for the remaining Sundays of Lent, I will post… Read More »Reflections on the Story of the Man Blind from Birth
It was a Monday morning. I had begun my shift at the hospital as the pager sounded. “Report to the ICU. There is a case for you.” That was 1981. I was a hospital chaplain then. I was called to provide pastoral support to the first person with AIDS I… Read More »Lesson from a Different Pandemic
In preparing to write about hope, I did an online search for quotes about hope. The majority of quotes represented a kind of Christian faith that I really don’t understand. They seemed to equate hope with faith in Jesus as a personal savior. There were other quotes from a rationalist… Read More »Can We Hope?
