The Earth reminded us of a Christmas tree ornament hanging in the blackness of space. As we got farther and farther away it diminished in size. Finally it shrank to the size of a marble, the most beautiful marble you can imagine. – James Irwin, American astronaut Early this morning, at 3:12 a.m. PST, we went through the winter solstice and our longest night of the year. The December solstice occurs when the sun reaches its most southerly declination of -23.5 degrees. In oth

The golden moments in the stream of life rush past us and we see nothing but sand; the angels come to visit us, and we only know them when they are gone. ~George Elliot ‘Tis the season for angels, angels, angels! We sing songs about angels, read stories about angels, we make angels in the snow, and of course, we put angel images everywhere. On cookies, in frames, frozen in sculpture, molded in chocolate, and then we even impale them on decorated trees. Most of the angel im

Guilt is only useful insofar as it points to a change that you can make. Otherwise just let it go. – Beverly Wildung Harrison, (1932-2012) feminist Christian ethicist, professor, and scholar Just how much do you let God be God? I admit that I’m not very good at doing the “let go and let God” thing. I was raised to be independent and self-reliant with several helpings of Texas stubborn swirled in to boot. But my heart stood still when Bev Harrison made the comment above in

You must give birth to your images. They are the future waiting to be born . . . fear not the strangeness you feel. The future must enter into you long before it happens . . . just wait for the birth . . . for the hour of new clarity. – Rainer Maria Rilke, 1875-1926 When Jesus advises us to “become as a child”, I think this is part of the invitation: to re- imagine how life might be in the future and even learn to play – like children – with our lives. It is so easy to get

Certainly the recent massacre in Newtown, Connecticut is weighing heavily on many minds and hearts. But some of us were already grieving during this Advent season, so our tears were close to the surface. A seminary classmate died earlier in the week and a former Moderator of the Presbyterian Church on Wednesday. My Uncle Lee Roy Valliant died during the holidays two years ago and my beloved great-grandmother, Lina Burgin McLain died on Christmas day in 1974, making this w

Today is the feast day for St. John of the Cross – one of the great mystics of the Christian tradition. The mystical tradition has been of great help to me in my journey of faith. Even if you haven’t read much of John’s poetry, you may have heard the phrase, “dark night of the soul”. Thomas Merton writes of John: No one can become a saint without solving the problem of suffering. No one who has ever written anything, outside the pages of Scripture, has given us such a solut

All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy; for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter another. – Anatole France, French poet (1844-1924) The spiritual discipline of “letting go” is one of the most difficult to master. We like to hang on to our “stuff”. I have a recurring dream that I am climbing through an enormous obstacle course when I have the realization that I have left my suitcase behind. As I cl

We Americans are an extremely competitive gang. We love sports, we love cutthroat business, and we are deeply envious of one another. It is especially hard to keep our envy in check during the holiday season when Madison Avenue stokes the fires of “I want one like yours” in each of us. Indeed most advertising plays on our envy. The actor in the commercial is handsome, dashing, well-dressed, and everything we want to be. AND it’s all because he is drinking the right drink

The words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenements halls and whispered in the sounds of silence. – Paul Simon, 20th century German theologian Dorothee Söelle, in her brilliant book, Suffering, describes silence as the surest sign of despair. Healing from such profound suffering begins with speech. When we are finally able to name the source of our suffering and despair, it begins to lose its’ power to paralyze and mute our lives. The culture that Jesus

We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within myself? And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the Creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? Then, then, is the fullness of time: When the Son of God is begotten in us. Meister Eckhart, 14th century