Suzanne Guthrie
The holy ordinary: A rediscovered passion
By the fourth century, you could become a Christian without risking your life. Church inevitably became entangled with private clubs, government posts and social networks....
Seedtime and harvest: Nothing is independent
I hold three mottled white-and-burgundy beans in the palm my hand....
Prayer chain: Compassion and connection
People have asked me to pray for them or for their loved ones all my adult life. I practice intercessory prayer very seriously, but that doesn’t stop me from wondering what I’m doing....
No time to linger: John 20:1-18
Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb. Dark. First light. Dawn. A few minutes of extraordinary encounter. This scene at the tomb of Jesus bestows a supreme gift upon the beloved of God. Time and place and character unfold and then reveal a threshold through which the hearer of the word may enter. Here, as in an icon, you experience Mary’s transformation from desolation to animation, from inertia to action.
Ready or not: Matthew 27:55-61
I once lived in a village in Germany that lay at the foot of a mountain covered in deep forest. A narrow farm separated the houses from the forest, and a cemetery occupied a piece of land part way up the mountain. Sometimes on my daily walks I stopped at the cemetery. It was the busiest place in town.
Back to life: John 11:1-45
How far had Lazarus traveled along the way of clarity, truth, and reality in those four days?
Hitting the road: Sunday, June 3 (1 Corinthians 12:4-13; Acts 2:1-11)
You can’t micromanage a road trip. The wind blows where it wills.
The turn in the path: Sunday, May 20 (John 14:23-29; Revelation 21:10)
In garden design, gates and curved paths and alcoves satisfy a human desire for mystery and resolution. A well-planned garden mirrors the invitation to pilgrimage and spiritual completion....