(6th and final post in a series for National Bible Week. Reflection on Luke 15:11-32) “Aren’t you going home for the holidays?” someone asked Bob as he signed up for December overtime. “Are you kidding?” he replied with a sharp laugh. “They wouldn’t have me if I went.” Few families are immune from scenes like […]
THE BIBLE: A BOOK FOR FAMILIES WHO PRAY FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE
(5th in a series for National Bible Week. Reflection on Acts 12:4-19) I’ll never forget 9/11. I drove to New Jersey to see my aunt, cheerfully oblivious to what was going on in New York. When I arrived, I found her whole family gathered at her house, glued to the TV. Together we watched the […]
THE BIBLE: A BOOK FOR FAMILIES WHO ARE ASKING, “NOW WHAT?”
(4th in a series for National Bible Week. Reflection on Luke 1:26-38) “Now what?” They knew layoffs were coming, but somehow Jim and Tina didn’t expect it to happen to them. Thirty years of loyal service dismissed in a five-minute meeting! Tina made some money tutoring but she hadn’t taught for years and jobs were […]
THE BIBLE: A BOOK FOR FAMILIES WHO HAVE BEEN DELIVERED – OR WHO NEED A MIRACLE!
(3rd in a series for National Bible Week. Reflection on Exodus 14:29-30; 15:1-2, 19-21) “I hope I never see you again.” Mark could hardly believe his ears. “Excuse me?” “I hope to never see you again,” the radiologist repeated. “The cancer’s gone.” Gone! All those months of treatments; the pain, the weakness, the worry, a […]
THE BIBLE: A BOOK FOR FAMILIES CAUGHT IN A STORM
(2nd in a series for National Bible Week. A reflection on Matthew 14:22-33.) We were expecting our fourth child, and the other kids were betting on what it would be. “Not another boy!” said our daughter. “As long as it’s healthy,” I said. Waiting to be discharged from the hospital, we got the word. Our […]
THE BIBLE: A BOOK FOR THE FAMILY
(First in a series for National Bible Week) In 1948, Beijing had fallen to the Communists and Mao Tse Tung was marching toward Shanghai, where my Grandparents lived with their five children and one on the way. Guns and cannons could be heard in the distance. Soldiers occupied the neighboring house and did their exercises […]
WHAT’S YOUR FAMILY’S STORY?
Pope Francis is coming to Philadelphia this week, and the whole town is in a whirl. Welcome signs and banners with the Holy Father’s picture are everywhere, and people of all ages, carrying green World Meeting of Families backpacks, are filling the streets with their smiles. One thing it’s hard not to notice is the […]
