22nd Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, RCL)

Yes, there’s violence. But there’s also God’s faithfulness and care.

In Matthew 16, I see a particular classical ballet step.

On the way to the soup kitchen, I met a man with a loaf of bread.

Through Christ, God dances.

People assume that silence and peace can be simply harnessed together, silence as Xanax for the soul. But that's not how deserts work.

The people at Friendship Church make creative use of art. They have also learned to be creative as they form their community and shape their narratives.

First church members reclaimed the corner as a peaceful space. Then, as it got colder, they began talking about expanding their ministry.

We seem to always want something—anything—to happen. This has implications for the life of prayer.

For this Sunday's Living by the Word column, I focused on the theme of hospitality in the reading from Romans.

For my own sermon on this text, I almost went with the title "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?"

While this is not the exuberant rhetorical surplus we find in 1 Corinthians 13, love is still Paul's guiding principle.

As I read the headline yesterday, my heart began to pound and my throat closed up: “School Clerk In Georgia Persuaded Gunman To Lay Down Weapons.” This was a good story—ultimately a hopeful one—but all I could see was “school” and “gunman."

The thing about serving as a prophet is that you are forever stuck between what God wants and what the people want.

Most churches in the New York area closed down as Hurri­cane Irene approached. My circumstance was a bit different.

God sent Moses on a mission to rescue his people from oppression. He was asked to risk his life in a costly but exciting adventure--a mission of compassion and justice on behalf of a million other people.