Category: Speaking to the Soul

“When I reflect on the passage from Corinthians that is our second lesson for the day, I imagine a Body of Christ that is so diverse that every single one of us has a place in it, just as we are.  Our spiritual gifts include not just the named functions like preaching and praying, but also the unnamed ones, like the way each of us responds to what gives us joy, and the creative ways in which we love one another in fully reciprocal relationships.”

“I still encounter epiphanies and get such joy every time it happens. They can be sparked by something I read in a book, heard on radio, TV, or in class. Someone might say something in passing or something that seems to come out of the clear blue (I think of those as God-sparks).”

“Those who would stop, reflect upon their changed context, and realize that perhaps the spirit of the law means something new in our new context, are tasked with drawing lines from one context to another, reaching theological and ethical conclusions about how to implement the spirit of a command offered in a different time and place.”

“Remember also, that we celebrate being Christ’s unified body each time we partake of Communion. He states that God distributes gifts as God will, but urges us to ‘strive’ for the ‘greater gifts.’ What are the ‘greater gifts?'”

“‘Providence is the faith that nothing can prevent us from fulfilling the ultimate meaning of our existence.'”

“As we continue through this Epiphany season celebrating the arrival of the Wise Men coming to bow down before the newborn king, I’m giving thanks for those who do the work of tending to others and caring for the ones who are sick and weak. I’m cheering for the ones who go at the pace of the slowest member knowing that we all have a vested interest in the health and healing of others.”

“Soon I am carried out into the sunlight, where I am poured and poured, again and again, bringing happiness and wonder to all whom I serve.  I am deeply satisfied and full of joy myself.  Regardless of what happens next, it is this moment for which I was born.”

“The statement, “‘Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick,” certainly rings with us in this age of pandemic and seemingly endless variants. So many deny that there is anything wrong, that they might get sick or even die, or that they can make others ill and risk death because they take no precautions for themselves or others.”

“All it took
Was the glance back “like they knew all along”
Or the tone in their voices on the phone,
To affirm that, indeed, I’d done the best I could,
Even if I’d failed.”

“Isn’t that where the miracle is? Jesus enters with us in our struggles just like he showed up at that small town wedding, assuring us that, yes, there IS enough.”