Doubt has a very bad reputation in most Christian communities. It’s seen as a temptation to be avoided, a slippery slope to losing faith completely. In these communities, questioning God – or, even worse, the established teachings of the church – is seen as the worst thing you could do. In the Friends of Jesus Fellowship, …
It’s a sensation that the ancients associated with the divine. The whispers of the muse. Inspiration from the spirit world. That moment of clarity when the veil is torn away and naked reality stares you in the face. These moments of clarity come in all shapes and sizes. Those little “aha” moments when a particularly tough problem …
We humans are story-telling machines. We tell them about ourselves, and about those around us. We use the power of words – the good, the bad, and the ugly – to paint a picture of who we are, and who we expect others to be. We tend to live into the expectations that others have …
This Sunday, we heard the story of the apostle Thomas, who refused to believe in the resurrection until he had witnessed it for himself. All the other apostles had been there Jesus when Jesus appeared, but Thomas missed it. Thomas was sure the others were making the whole thing up. “Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, …
It’s amazing how inspiration can come in the most ordinary moments. Most recently for me, it was during my morning commute into downtown Washington, DC. As I watched the US Capitol Building gleaming in the morning sunlight, a powerful sense of peace and calm covered me like a blanket. Without warning, I found myself seated in the presence of …
We have a plant in the office where I work. It’s one of those plants that is supposedly indestructible. Even the most negligent gardeners shouldn’t be able to kill this thing. Yet last week I noticed that the plant had begun to wilt dramatically. It looked like it might not survive. I went and checked the soil, …
I’m a future-oriented person. At any given time, I’m probably using half my energy thinking, dreaming, preparing for what’s coming next. But this year for Lent, I’m trying to give up dreaming for a little while. As much as I’m able, for the next month or so I’ll avoid pondering any possible future, no matter how …