Mother Theresa once wrote, “We can do no great things, only small things with great love. It’s not how much you do, but how much love you put into doing it.” Author Shane Claiborne lives in an intentional Christian community in inner-city Philadelphia, ministering to the urban poor and homeless. They often have people stop […]
There is a pastor named Maxie Dunnam who relates to a story told by the author, Loren Isley. When Isley was 16, one day he leaned out the second-story window of his high school, and he saw an old junk dealer riding in a cart filled with cast-off clothing, discarded furniture, and an assortment of […]
Many years ago now, my mother bought me a book called, “Journeys of Simplicity,” by Philip Harnden. It is a book of collected lists. “Most of these lists came about from journeys people have undertaken: place to place, day to day, birth to death. Each list simply describes what was carried, often in a rucksack, […]
Today, we are about at the halfway point of our journey through the season of Lent. Like all journeys, this journey is headed somewhere. We are heading towards the celebration of Easter, the celebration of new life emerging out of the old, the celebration that what was dead and gone is now giving way to […]
The late humorist and author Lewis Grizzard once told about a time when he was being visited by his minister in the hospital. Grizzard was scheduled to have open-heart surgery the next morning and he confessed to his pastor that he had not exactly led a virtuous life. He asked if there was still time […]
Some time ago, I was reading back through the story of Joshua. When the Israelites were finally settled in the land that God had promised them, Joshua gathered the community together and he retold the story of God’s providence, God’s deliverance up to that point. Joshua ends his speech by encouraging them to make a […]
Psalm 46 is one of the most beloved in the scriptures. It begins, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with […]
Over the past two days, we reflected on God’s unconditional love and grace. I continue that theme today. Not long ago, I heard Father Gregory Boyle talk about his friend and spiritual director, Bill Cain. A number of years ago, his friend took time off of his own ministry to care for his father as […]
Yesterday we reflected on God’s unconditional love and grace. I continue that theme today. Thomas Merton says, “Nothing can change God’s love for me, since my very existence is the sign that God loves me and the presence of his love creates and sustains me…” Some people have a hard time accepting that. They have […]
One of our greatest needs as human beings is to be accepted; to be loved, to be valued. In the world, it’s true, that we often have to earn that acceptance. We have to earn that value. Sometimes we even feel we have to earn that love. It’s not often just handed to us. But […]
