Scripture Reflection
Here I share the fruits of my personal reflection on the Word of God, whether I’m reading along with the lectionary readings for that week or exploring a particular book of the Bible. Enjoy the posts that appear below; you’ll find them with the most recent first. If you’re looking for something in particular, try typing a topic, book of the Bible, or other keyword into the search field at the bottom of the page. Topics I write about frequently include those listed below:
I woke up early and made my way to the kitchen in darkness so deep I could feel it. The soft light that usually glows in the hallway was out. I inched my way along, afraid of knocking into something or falling down. I felt rather than saw the corner, and turning it my eye was drawn to a faint ...
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“For we saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.” — Matthew 2:2b It’s a dull, gray day and there's an emptiness around my heart, something I can't quite name. Where is the child all the fuss was about? Where is Jesus? I wonder if the Church knew it might be like this when she made ...
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It’s no accident that National Bible Week coincides with Thanksgiving. Its roots are in the day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, when radio reports of the attack were alternated with Scripture readings to encourage the nation. Later, FDR proclaimed the week of Thanksgiving to be National Bible Week for all America, in gratitude to the Lord. Since then, every US President ...
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Jesus “keeps on taking me to new levels, … that we didn’t even imagine before. […] God’s always had a plan for me.” That was the outspoken rapper Kanye West, preaching from the “new level” of a coach seat on a jet bound for LA, where he talked to Late Late Show host James Cordon about finding religion in a special ...
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My mom had a no-fail way of dealing with grumpy, complaining, mopey kids: she’d send us to our rooms with one command: “come out when you’re ready to be happy!” Typically I would stomp off full of whatever grievance I was nursing, only to come out soon after, having laid it aside. Not that the trouble went away; but I ...
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Night fell gradually, so slowly that we didn't notice it was coming. People of all ages had flocked to the field for AbbeyFest, an annual day-long celebration of family, faith, and music. As the light waned, so did the guitars. The songs became softer, more worshipful. And as the last rays of sun disappeared, someone lit a match down front ...
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We rounded the corner of our house after being away for a while and gasped. Tire tracks churned through the yard. Piles of rocks and flagstones, uprooted from the old terrace, lay everywhere. The back yard was a rough sea of mud and debris. "My garden!" was all I could think. Everything from lilies to raspberries -- gone! Who knew ...
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Friday the 13th seems an appropriate day to be heading into Saturday’s Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. It brings to mind another Friday, the one that we call “good” — although it must have seemed anything but “good” to the disciples who witnessed it. But here is the glory of the Cross: that when God became man, ...
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“Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God….” (Ruth 1:16) These words have been sung at countless weddings – but they were first said not by a bride but by someone who turned her back on the sensible option for her own future, to ...
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