Mark 9:38-50

When my kids were teenagers, they always came in the house and kicked off their shoes at the door. They didn’t necessarily return to put those back on, so the pile grew. Throw in some high school friends and a few church musicians, and you have a mountain of shoes. And what do you think happened when I came home?? I tripped over the pile.

So of course, the shoe pile is the first thing I think of when I hear the phrase, “stumbling block.” I got angry about the shoe pile, but Jesus seems uncharacteristically harsh: “If any of you [disciples] put a stumbling block

before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great Read more…

Mark 9:30-37

Elaine was a church goer; her husband wasn’t. She had two active boys under the age of three, and she wanted them raised in the church. But Elaine was worried about their behavior—they were a handful. How would people accept them?

Elaine finally took the plunge and visited a church nearby. Her boys were predictably squirrelly—the sticker book she had brought didn’t hold their attention beyond the 1st lesson and the cheerios spilled on the floor. They were especially noisy during the sermon, and Elaine got a few “looks”—they had disturbed others around her.

Red-faced, Elaine tried to hurry out the door after worship when an older woman stopped her. Read more…

Mark 8:27-38

When my son Joel was four years old, he started cello lessons. Joel had great musical aptitude, but he wasn’t much for practicing. His instruction was the Suzuki method, which utilizes parents to help the student practice. But I spent most of my time trying to get Joel to focus. I literally stood on my head one day to get him to play “French Folk Song.”

Parenthood is full of such demands: sleepless nights, hours in the car, managing the family calendar. We put our own goals aside to pay for childcare, activities, college. It’s a sacrifice of time, money, and brain space.

Parenthood isn’t the only thing in life that demands self-denial: Read more…

Mark 7:1-23

A couple of weeks ago I made a trip to the podiatrist. It was a pretty typical visit: conversation with the nurse, x-rays, and an examination from the doctor. I’d joked with the nurse about walking down the hall in my bare feet—was it ok to go without shoes? I think it’s a good hygiene day, I said.

That evening, I took off my sandals and looked at the bottom of my feet. They were filthy! How did that happen? I wondered. Was I walking outside without my shoes on? Are my floors that dirty? Then I remembered: Messy Games. The Read more…

John 6:56-69

For years, doctors have told me I should do weight-bearing exercise, or resistance training. Resistance training has a number of health benefits. It strengthens your heart and reduces risk of stroke. It strengthens ligaments and improves balance. It shifts fat to muscle and increases your mental health. But for me the salient benefit is strengthening my bones, preventing osteoporosis. So when I am in yoga class, muscles straining, holding a pose way too long, I can smile and be grateful: I’m resistance training, and it’s good for me.

But there are some forms of Read more…

“Who touched me” is about guarding your personal space, your integrity. Like the siblings who draw a line down the middle in the backseat of the car, like no man’s land in combat, these are fighting words.

In Jesus’ day, they were fighting words, too, but for slightly Read more…

Mark 4:35-41

When I was a kid, my family visited a famous Shinto shrine in Nara, Japan. I remember being captivated by the people praying in the shrine. As they drew near to pray, they clapped their hands. I was told they clapped to get the gods’ attention.

I remember being perplexed by this—I felt that my God was always listening, always there for me. Why would you need to get God’s attention?

But then I read today’s Gospel story. Jesus suggests to his disciples a trip across the Sea of Galilee, a freshwater lake that even today is known for its sudden squalls. He makes this suggestion at night, an unpredictable time on the water Read more…

Deuteronomy 5:12-15

Do you remember when you were a kid on the first day of summer? I remember waking up in my bed, thinking to myself, “What am I going to do today?” A limitless horizon stretched out before me: the entire summer. Of course there would be chores to help my mother, and weeding the garden with my dad. But at that moment all I could think about was me and my friends and hanging out at the pool. It was pure freedom.

On Memorial Day this week, the unofficial beginning of summer, I had the liberty of sitting out on my patio first thing in the morning and asking myself, what do I want to do today? I did have Read more…

John 15-16

One of the most haunting scenes to me in the Gospel of John is when Jesus stands before Pilate awaiting judgment and says that he came into the world to testify to the truth. Pilate, frustrated by Jesus’ unwillingness to exonerate himself, says cynically, What is truth?

I guess I have always been drawn to this passage because I want to know the truth: the truth about the way the world works; the truth about myself and other people; the truth about God. I long for knowledge and wisdom that lasts.

In the Gospel today, Jesus gives his disciples Truth—he himself is the truth. Jesus famously said, I Read more…

Waiting.
That’s one of the operative words in today’s scriptures. By the way, if you felt like you were Read more…