18th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, RCL)

I can’t fathom a God who isn’t personal—and personally accountable.

Nine trans Christians tell their stories.

It took me a long time to accept this about myself. Eventually I even came to like it.

Maybe the parable of the persistent widow isn't about God. Maybe it's about us.

We don’t talk about idolatry much anymore, despite the caution against it in everything from the Ten Commandments to the New Testament epistles. This is ironic, because idolatry flourishes in our culture.

“Many were coming and going, and they had no leisure, even to eat.” I think of the many lunches spent at my computer with a sandwich.

The miles of steep climbs were passing by like speed bumps. The surplus of downhills ahead of me foreshadowed a strong finish.

Then, just over halfway through the marathon, I felt a twinge in my right achilles.

Years ago, at a denominational gathering, I heard a visitor from the global South say the following about North American Christians:

They have so many things. They don’t need anything. Yet it seemed like the people were very thirsty, like they were in a desert and we were bringing them drops of water.

These words refuse to leave me.

The people are hungry. Jesus' solution is even more improbable than the disciples' solution.

Each autumn, Fourth Presbyterian Church's sanctuary is full to overflowing with Jewish worshipers attending High Holy Days observances.

On September 9, when many of our members return from Labor Day vacations or summer travels, the gospel text from Mark and the sacrament of communion might be a powerful combination to welcome folks back to the gospel-centered community.

Whether she knows it or not, the Syrophoenician woman’s reference to the table is a persuasive image for her audience. The table stands at the center of Jesus’ ministry.

Like Jacob and Esau, my mother and my aunt met each other one day after 20 years of estrangement.