“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” - Matthew 5:5 (NRSV) Every morning, when I open my eyes, it’s there again. It’s kept me up half the night, but in those few hours of slumber, I hoped that it might disappear. But there it is. I’m still angry. I don’t need to hear the news for the day. I’m still furious about yesterday. I can’t believe that this is happening, and I’m livid. It’s anger that makes me act. It spurs my resistance, but it is where my fa

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in God’s word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning, more than those who watch for the morning. - Psalm 130:5-6 (NRSV) Maybe it is my empathic spirit, but I can literally feel it in my chest as the psalmist waits with bated breath, as she tries to be non-anxious and fully present. Perhaps like me, you too need an image reminding us that our waiting on God is not in vain – even as the entir

The one who is from the earth … speaks as one from the earth. The one whom God has sent speaks the words of God. - John 3:31, 34 (NIV) The bombardment of contrasting news reports and conflicting political punditry in mass media has got me quite leery. I’m constantly flipping from one news outlet to another, and I’m reading as many pertinent and informed articles as I can stand in any given day. And, like so many others, I’m paying a lot more attention to the precautions and

The end of everything has come. Therefore... - 1 Peter 4:7 (CEB) In the past few months, blogposts, think pieces, and memes have offered both recommendations and explanations for human behavior during the new abnormal of pandemic response. We list our Netflix favorites, or share our accomplishments, or fuss at people handling things differently, or offer to let ourselves off the hook entirely for the basics of life. The letter we call 1 Peter went out from Rome, we think,

For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God – not the result of good works, so that no one may boast.” - Ephesians 2:8 (NRSV) I sometimes hear people say that Christianity is all about being a good person, or becoming a better person. While I appreciate the sentiment, I think it’s off-base. For me, Christianity has little to do with being a good person. The essence of the Christian faith is this: God loves us not b

“Wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.” - Luke 24:49 (WEB) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is much in the news right now. From grocery clerks to medical staff, bus drivers to nursing home aides, essential workers need protective clothing, goggles, and other gear to ward off the coronavirus and stay safe. The rest of us also need masks and gloves, not just for our protection, but to protect others from ourselves. In Luke’s final r

The LORD leads me beside still waters; they restore my soul. They lead me in right paths for their name’s sake. - Psalm 23:1-3 (NRSV, adapted) My son and I hike along, looking for the next flash of color. Those who knew the way through this forest have gone ahead of us, painting blue blazes on the trees to lead us in right paths. I think of the ancestors who set aside this state forest, the ones who blazed the trail. What did they think we’d be using this for? Did the

Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord's coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. - James 5:7 (NIV) “No mom. I can do it.” Of course I knew it all at five. After relentlessly telling my mom I didn’t need her help brushing my teeth, she finally gave in. It took approximately 2.5 seconds for me to drop a huge glob of toothpaste on my new dress. It was picture day, and she s

The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners … but the centurion ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and make for the land, and the rest to follow, some on planks and others on pieces of the ship. And so it was that all were brought safely to land. - Acts 27:42-44, excerpted (NRSV) Some say we’re all in the same boat during this pandemic. But as this story from Acts shows, even people in the same boat aren’t in the same boat. Some can swim; some can’t. So

n the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, on the seventeenth day of the second month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of the heavens were opened. The rain fell on the earth forty days and forty nights. - Genesis 7:11-12 (NIV) Forty days is a good, solid, biblical number. It signifies completeness, totality. It is time fulfilled. For it to rain for forty days means it well and truly rained for as long as one could imagine. But he