Life of Faith
God became flesh, but he never had breast cancer
I was diagnosed just after Christmas. It changed my perspective on the incarnation.
Who is solitude for?
David Vincent’s exhaustive tome suggests that fruitful solitude has often been linked to privilege.
Living with chronic pain without asking why
When I’m simply present to my own pain, I learn to be present to others’ pain, too.
The beautiful stillness of the Christ child
As the rotating nativity spun, I kept watching Jesus.
Immigration law and the politics of disgust
How Pharaoh treated the Hebrews and how the US has treated my people
Seeing Black people in scripture
Esau McCaulley’s book reclaims what the Black church has always known.
The books we’re giving as Christmas gifts
If your secret Santa were a Century editor, here’s what you might be getting.
Isolated for the holidays? You should feast anyway.
Even during a pandemic, feasting is central to Christian worship.
I’ve been a professor for 40 years, but teaching Greek to an eight-year-old may be my crowning achievement
It started with a FaceTime call with my grandson.
The words I turn to in times of grief and distress
“If it can’t be happy, make it beautiful.”
Would we recognize a modern-day messiah?
Sean Gandert’s novel asks us to decide if a man is a saint or a sham.
Looking to Advent as we grieve our COVID-19 dead
Lament and longing can be companions.
December 24/25, Nativity (Isaiah 9:2-7; John 1:1-14)
The prophetic power of a candle in the window
I was a scribe for the Chicago Illuminated Scripture Project
What would possess me to copy a chapter of the Bible by hand?
Three ways to create sacred moments at home this Advent
In chaotic times, focus on routine, ritual, and simplicity.
What we lost when the funeral home replaced the home funeral
Death rituals used to happen in our houses. What if we brought them back?
George H. W. Bush’s letter to Bill Clinton was a model of respect and solidarity
What will Donald Trump leave for Joe Biden?
Grieving my daughter’s suicide in a time of wider grief
My years of experience as an undertaker didn’t make it easier.
My dad died from COVID-19. My grief is a lonely one.
I’m the only person he loved the way he loved me.
How do we grieve the hundreds of thousands of people the COVID-19 pandemic has killed?
We posed this question to five writers.