Psalm

The psalmist is not alone in claiming that humans are only “a little lower than God.” Can it be any wonder, then, that our faith leaves a great deal of room to disagree about our power in creation?

When I was baptized at 12, I refused what Baptists call “the right hand of fellowship.” I wanted the water but not the fellowship.

Christians didn’t baptize Aldo Leopold’s land ethic after the fact. They got there years before his work.

James reminds us of the duplicity of language, like a matchstick dropped by singed fingers that leaves behind charred acres. The deception of language is that we believe it is innocent.

James reminds us of the duplicity of language, like a matchstick dropped by singed fingers that leaves behind charred acres. The deception of language is that we believe it is innocent.

It’s no secret that I love Ordinary Time.

As time goes on, I find that the seasons I love the most in the liturgical year aren’t the high holy feasts, but the ordinary ones.

In his years as a pastor my husband read the 23rd Psalm at the bedsides of quite a few people who were dying. It was the most frequently requested passage among those who were facing their own going and still able to choose. When I began to volunteer for hospice, I found, as he had, that even for people who had wandered far from church, even for the skeptical and the uncertain, even for those who were unused to prayer and didn't want to be prayed over, the 23rd Psalm provided a place of return that was beautiful, familiar, inviting, and reassuring.

Most nights, my bedtime prayer with our two oldest boys begins like this:

Be still and know that I am God.

My radiation treatment meant I'd lose my voice for six weeks, and our church couldn't afford pulpit supply. So the people decided to be my voice.

Every time I read Psalm 16, I think about how an individual's life is in large measure the sum total of the influence of others.

What are the best Psalms commentaries for Christian exposition? Walter Brueggemann and William Bellinger's book deserves a place alongside Clinton McCann and James Mays.

The Bible's images for God must be taken in an analogical sense. Yet the Bible exhibits no anxiety about using them.

The Bible's images for God must be taken in an analogical sense. Yet the Bible exhibits no anxiety about using them.

The Bible's images for God must be taken in an analogical sense. Yet the Bible exhibits no anxiety about using them.

I was 29, agonizing over a decision, when I came upon a little book by Robert Ochs.

I was 29, agonizing over a decision, when I came upon a little book by Robert Ochs.

When I pray the words of Psalm 23, the “you” I address them to is God. But I hope others will overhear.

When she knew she was dying, my grandmother took me to see the cornerstone of a small brick church in my hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. I didn’t recognize the sign outside. It was a Baptist church, I think. It was pretty rundown, but still in better shape than the neighborhood. Overgrown vacant lots were everywhere; it was like visiting an abandoned church in the jungle.

I believe God can make us completely over, but I also believe that this is not always necessary.