While hiking in the forest, I was startled by the cracking sound of a large tree as it began crashing toward the ground. I started to run out of its way,...

The Earth rotates at 1,000 miles per hour at the equator. Our world seems to change even faster than that, and such rapid change affects us. Technology and mass media, relatively...

We moved from our hometown when I was entering middle school. We left a community in which I felt known, valued, and loved. The center of our life was the little...

We often face difficult and painful—and sometimes even devastating—experiences. We encounter defeat, failure, loss, and death. Such experiences may seem to be punishment, and we can begin to feel vengeful toward...

In the past week’s meditations we have looked at reasons for inexplicable hope in God’s promises. We’ve seen the examples of Jeremiah and Lazarus. We’ve been challenged to participate in bringing...

Our home place is a sacred memory for many of us. Nothing warms us like a vision of family gathered together to work, to play, to eat and sleep, and to...

If we look beneath the surface of the parable about the rich man and Lazarus, we will see that Jesus has more to say to us than how to use our...

In his parables, Jesus often challenges our usual way of doing things. He punches holes in our preconceived notions and reveals our misguided methodologies. In today’s reading, Jesus upends another common...

Today’s reading presents us with a stark choice: Will we depend on our wealth for security, or will we instead take hold of eternal life? It may seem an easy choice....

As we already have seen, Jeremiah lives in the midst of a darkness where he is the only one who has any light. Jeremiah’s light comes in the form of an...