Last week, on Easter Sunday, we heard the miraculous story of the women’s encounter with the angels at the tomb—how these mysterious men dressed in clothes that gleamed like lightning told them, “He is not here! He has risen, just as he said!” We heard how the women hurried excitedly back to where the disciples […]
Read more "Signs and Wonders"If you had to take a guess, what would you think are the three biggest temptations people struggle with on a regular basis? If you’re not sure, or you have trouble of thinking of what might qualify as a temptation in your own life, think about something you regularly chastise yourself for; something you seem […]
Read more "Temptation’s Antidote"We have been on a rollercoaster of Indiana weather. We had an almost 60-degree day early in the week and that followed 8 inches of snow that had arrived just a few days before that. And almost before we got time to enjoy it, the warm and sunny day was followed by plummeting temperatures, freezing […]
Read more "Sowing and Reaping"In a fast-moving world that is full to bursting with opinions and marketing spin, isn’t it a relief to get a clear, yes-or-no answer to a question we care about? The “simple, unvarnished truth”—even if it is something we’d rather not hear—rings true and something within us relaxes when we get the answer. Our hearts […]
Read more "Yes and No"Many years ago, my then 8th’grade son and I drove a frosty four hours north to Kalamazoo, Michigan for an evening of live music. We were both excited about the event; he had received two tickets to hear Wynton Marsalis and the Lincoln Jazz Center Orchestra live as they made stops across the country on […]
Read more "The Song of God"In a confusing time, in an overstimulating world, it is no wonder that we often yearn for life to be easier, our path to be clearer, our decisions more obvious. We can feel like there’s so much struggle, we try so hard, we make so much effort, and all that effort may or may not […]
Read more "Two Kinds of Wisdom"Last week as our Call to Worship I read something William Penn wrote in 1693, and that passage has really stuck with me this week, popping into my head, first thing in the morning, and reminding me to choose moments of peace in the middle of my day. I tried following his simple instructions and […]
Read more "Consider It Pure Joy"You may know that Thursday of this past week was what’s known on the Christian calendar as Epiphany, celebrated as the day the Magi arrived to bring their gifts to the infant Jesus. In our New Testament reading today we heard the story. Matthew gives us only a few general ideas about who these men […]
Read more "“Aha!” Moments"The end of the year for me is always a reflective time, as I look back on the year stretching behind me, full of moments of happiness and peace, and uncertainty and the occasional stress and upset. There were problems, but they worked out. There were questions, and they got answered. If your year was […]
Read more "Adding It All Up"I have to confess, I was a little worried yesterday about how this message might come together. All I ate—almost all day—was sugar. I made homemade caramels with a recipe my favorite 103-year-old patient gave me late Friday afternoon, and of course I had to try some of those. I dipped all the peanut butter […]
Read more "A Guiding Star"
The Space between the Words 