“God doesn’t give a gift without giving an obligation to use it.” – Christian Wiman We sometimes assume that to do what we do not desire is to be right, to be the martyr. But to be what we were made to be, this is to be the true martyr, because the greatest battles of… Read More Week 10: you are a light
“Piously we produce our images of you / till they stand around you like a thousand walls. / And when our hearts would simply open, / our fervent hands hide you.” – Rilke We want control. We crave it. Many of us want to be told what to believe, how to believe, how to live,… Read More Week 9: losing to find (part 2)
If (or when) we begin to diverge from what we were so stringently taught to believe, feelings of fear and guilt may follow. Our context, upbringing, circumstances, and environment are so powerful, and have so much control over our thinking and beliefs of what is good and bad, right and wrong, true and untrue. If… Read More Week 8: losing to find
“In a world where people believe they are not hungry, we must not offer food but rather an aroma that helps them desire the food that we cannot provide…[we] must endeavor to be a question rather than an answer and an aroma rather than food.” Peter Rollins When I ask for answers, give me more… Read More Week 7: known over knowing
Almost two years ago, I was in Arequipa, Peru. I connected with a couple who help run a home for young Peruvians with mental and physical handicaps, most of them severe. I remember my first afternoon visiting the orphanage. Most of the individuals have severe mental handicaps. Some of them can communicate a little; many… Read More Week 6: seeing (part 2)
Years ago, during a night in the city of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, I had an ever so small encounter that, for whatever unknown reason, has left a lasting emotional impact. I meandered through a crowded night bazaar with sidewalk shops and stands, enjoying the evening and people watching (as I always did without… Read More Week 5: seeing
“I am so distant from the hope of myself, in which I have goodness, and discernment, and never hurry through the world but walk slowly, and bow often.” What have I forgotten, my father? Will I leave you, like so many others? Or will I stay with the seemingly few? I don’t want to be… Read More Week 4: forgetful
Sitting there with those two men (“K” and “J” we’ll call them), I felt something I haven’t felt in a long time. A little spark, a little hunger, a little thirst, the challenge of not having the answers to difficult questions; men of various backgrounds and different experiences and opinions, listening to one another without… Read More Week 3: these three men
I recently finished my first book by Wendell Berry, Jayber Crow (if you haven’t already, do yourself a favor and read it). There’s a specific conversation that occurs between Jayber and one of his professors at the college he’s attending as a “pre-ministerial student.” He wants to leave; he no longer wants to be a… Read More Week 2: living questions
