29th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C, RCL)

Nine trans Christians tell their stories.

As the children make their way out the door, trails of leftover communion bread go with them.

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.

There are many people with whom I have not had an affair. Billions. There is also one man in particular.

The Prodigal Son is often read to mean that God loves sinners, whereas the Jews thought God only loved the righteous. This makes no sense.

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.

I’ve been thinking about Jacob a good deal lately, so for this week’s Century lectionary column I wrote about Jacob and the angel. But I also rather wanted to write about the Gospel reading, the Unjust Judge parable from Luke.

I wanted to write about the parable because on the surface it is a bit nonsensical.

Monastic vows sound familiar to anyone who's been to a wedding. In both marriage and celibacy, we promise to be faithful.