Lent’s practices of penance have parallels in the monastic vocation. Fasting, prayer, and almsgiving are ways of practicing the poverty, chastity, and obedience that monks and nuns take on as a...

The work of repentance can seem burdensome, but its true aim is joy. Martin Luther King, Jr. did not go to Montgomery, Alabama, to lead the civil rights movement. A graduate...

Shame is the feeling that comes from believing, whether we admit it or not, that we really aren’t worthy of love and respect from our family, our neighbors, our God. It’s...

The worst part about being a prophet, Jeremiah knew, was having to tell God’s people what they did not want to hear. The false prophets of his day—as in ours—loved to...

John 3:16 often appears on people’s foreheads at ballgames, on placards, bumper stickers, or in pamphlets left in public restrooms. To grow up in a Christian church means that you know,...

I once knew a young man who had been raised going to church and even attended a Christian elementary school. When invited to attend church with my husband and me, he...

What does it mean to “be dead in your transgressions and sin?” We know that we humans tend to live into patterns. Patterns are comfortable ways to avoid making decisions. We...

Growing up in the shadow of an over-achieving older sister, I tried to earn the love of my parents through my achievements and good behavior. I found areas to excel different...

What is it that God desires of us? God desires we recognize God’s good gifts and tell the story, share the wealth, share in God’s great abundance with others. We are...

This passage from Numbers reminds me of the suffering of Jesus, lifted high on the cross at Calvary. In John’s Gospel, the writer makes this comparison in verse 14 of chapter...