Getting perspective in talks with Iran
Something like eagerness for war seems to animate the fiery rhetoric of leaders and legislators on the right, who will not lift a finger for peace with Iran — but do keep one on the trigger.
A Passion for the Partial
There is something we all need before we die, if our last day might approach not as debilitating necessity or worse, an evil night meddling with all our days
A Light in the Night
Here we are once more at the cusp of the new year. Why do we mark its passing so sharply? Does it matter? From the surface of the Sun, if one could look to the heavens tonight and see Planet Earth fly by
Twice-Told Tales
The Hebrew Bible opens with a story about creation. “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth . . .” A chapter later, we start all over again. “On the day the Lord God made the earth and the heavens . . . “
The Star and the Cross
“Wishing you an old-fashioned Christmas”—jingles the message inside a yuletide card on my desk. The water-color painting printed on its face renders a scene in a room of very blue walls and very high ceiling. The tall be-appled Christmas tree
Holy Hidden Human
You don’t need to be a bible scholar to find out that the prophet Isaiah did not say that “a virgin shall conceive.” Ancient Hebrew has a word for “virgin,” but Isaiah used a different word, meaning “young woman.” And he spoke not of “a” young woman but “the young woman” . . .
Space and Stuff
Time and again, the Bible’s stories are set in the wilderness. Why? Is the desert incidental? Is it mere history that the pioneers of faith happened to live in the Middle East, which happens to be dry as dead bones? Or is the case more complex?
On Our Knees Again
I want to open today with a reflection on two books. Many of us read the first in high school, The Lord of the Flies by William Golding. The story teaches something simple and sobering about children, namely that they are not yet structured as civilized humans, and, left to themselves, might become something quite fearsome. The second is “The Children of Men,” by P.D. James. . .
The Unexpected Hour
Whoever means to be serious about the possibility that there is a God somewhere needs to be serious about the possibility that the way we worship is no good. By “we” I don’t mean just Riverside. No, this word is for all churches everywhere. It is a waking word, a buzzing, persistent word come down from the prophets like locusts on the field at harvest.
A Fragrance Fills the House
The apostle Paul was a good fund-raiser. In this part of his letter to the Corinthians, he was encouraging them to take part in a campaign underway in all the new churches of the Mediterranean . . .
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