A number of years ago now, there was an article in the newspaper about the burial of one of the Boston Marathon’s terrorists. Apparently, authorities had an extremely difficult time finding a location to bury this man. No one would accept the body. A woman named Martha Mullen heard about the dilemma and worked hard […]
According to early church tradition, the apostle James earned the nickname, “Old Camel Knees.” Apparently, this was due to thick callouses that formed on his knees from years and years of prayer. The letter of James in the New Testament is often categorized as Wisdom Literature. In his commentary on this letter in The Message, […]
In his book Sources of Strength, former President Jimmy Carter wrote about interviewing Eloy Cruz, a Cuban pastor, who had gained tremendous respect among poor immigrants from Puerto Rico. Carter asked him, “What is the secret to your success?” Pastor Cruz replied, “Señor Jimmy, we need to have only two loves for our lives, love […]
Sometime back, I was listening to an interview with the author, educator, and entrepreneur Adam Robinson. He spoke about a startling discovery he had recently made. One day he typed into Google, “How can I learn…” just to see what would pop up – to see what people are looking for. How can I learn… […]
Yesterday, we reflected on this idea of standing at a crossroads or a threshold. Poet and philosopher John O’Donahue writes about these pivotal moments. He put it this way: “…there are huge thresholds in every life… for instance… if you are in the middle of your life on a busy evening, with 50 things to […]
Billy Graham used to tell a story of something that happened to him early in his ministry. He had just arrived in a small town, having been invited to preach at an evening revival service. Graham had a few letters to mail, so he asked a young boy if he could tell him the way […]
There is a story dating back many years now, about a young girl who was taking her first overnight train ride with her parents. That night, the girl was a little anxious. Her mother placed her on the upper bunk of the sleeper, and while tucking her in, told her that up there, she would […]
The book of Nehemiah describes the rebuilding of the wall around Jerusalem after its citizens had returned from many years of exile. At its completion, there was great celebration. The scripture reads, “They offered great sacrifices that day and rejoiced, for God had made them rejoice with great joy; the women and children also rejoiced. […]
There’s an old story about a young minister who shared with his congregation that he was leaving the church for another call. As he was standing outside greeting folks on his final Sunday, one of the elderly women gave him a hug and with eyes full of tears, she lamented, “Oh pastor, I’m so sorry […]
Yesterday we reflected on moments of awe and wonder. I learned recently that the Greek root for the word “beauty” is related to the word for “calling.” The words are “kalon” and “kalein.” The Christian poet and philosopher, John O’Donahue makes the claim that in the presence of beauty, in the presence of awe and […]
