24th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year C, RCL)

Where is the psalmist’s own voice in this communal confession and appeal?

Jeremiah’s ministry bleeds into his humanity.

Sometimes in ministry you lose precious things.

It’s hard to believe in an enchanted world.

The golden calf isn’t a terrible idea. It’s just not God’s idea.

I preached a word of judgment. The stranger in the back row heard grace.

It's complicated to lose things.

Not everything that’s lost can be found.

I’ve stopped trying to climb over it or knock it down. Now I just sit there.

What began as respect for the Second Amendment has morphed into a colossal idolatry of lethal weapons.

Our political discourse features strong convictions about moral obligations—and widespread uncertainty about where they come from.

A counting book that retells Jesus’ parables and a Reformation-themed alphabet book are among my favorite new children’s books. 

I have no idea what it would mean to be a shepherd, let alone someone who would abandon 99 sheep to go looking for a single stray.

James calls Abraham a “friend of God.” In this week’s reading from Exodus, Moses presumes upon a similar divine friendship to offer God advice.

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

Reading Amy-Jill Levine's Short Stories by Jesus, I kept wishing she had published it earlier. It would have saved me some mistakes in the pulpit.

In my younger, decidedly anti-Christian days, I did not like the way Christians asked God for mercy. It reinforced my idea that “the Christian God” was cruel and punishing. After all, if God was a loving and compassionate God, one would not have to beg for mercy. And if God was cruel and punishing but at the same time righteous and just, then human beings were clearly bad and unworthy.

This whole system of thought—shameful people and cruel God—made me want to stay far, far away from Christianity and Christian churches.