As we in the Christian church regroup in an era where the church has lost much of its authority in our country, I think we need to look deeply within for why we have turned so many people off in the last forty years. From the scandals of the Catholic priests to the Protestant politicians […]

Recently I received an interfaith calendar of holy days for April from the hospital chaplaincy board I was apart of in Charlotte. It started me thinking that maybe everyday is a holy day in some religion. And then by extension, what if we considered everyday, a holy day? Not just the Sabbath. And every step […]

For a while my son-in-law owned a trailer park in Florida. He said that inevitably each month at least one of his tenants would come in to pay off part of another’s rent for that month. The reason: “He’s short this month,” or “she needs some help.” People who work with the poor would say […]

“Martha, Martha …there is need of only one thing.” [NSRV Luke 10:41] Poor, maligned Martha who is stressed and worried, frustrated that her sister is listening to Jesus and not helping Martha in the kitchen with the meal. The version of this story that echoes in my head is the KJV: “but one thing is […]

  What is righteousness? And how do we become righteous? The word righteousness is translated throughout the New Testament from the Greek noun, dikaiosyne, which means both “the state of doing what is in agreement with God’s standards” and “the state of being in proper relationship with God.” To be righteous is to do both: […]

Surrendered. Embracing. Peaceful. Calm. Centered. I first encountered some women who radiated these qualities in 1998 when I entered a training program for spiritual directors at the Mercy Center in Burlingame, California. I’ve met a number of Sisters of Mercy since then and most all of them emanated these same qualities. The essential quality is […]

The kingdom is real and present in our lives, if we will rest in God; it is, in a way, a parallel universe to our “real” world; it operates under the rule of love; it is ever forming a true community where everyone is welcome; it is the world where the Holy Spirit reigns in […]

Don’t wait a single minute for another man or woman or even helpless child, for Jesus Christ or the Holy Spirit, or for some miracle, BE THE MIRACLE YOURSELF! Be at peace, be loving! Now! Don’t wait another minute. Be peace, be love now. There is no time to waste, no one else to depend […]

Any time we are aware of God’s presence, we step into the kingdom, even if only for a few seconds. When we can forget our false self’s needs, we are there. Being fully present to another person will take us there. The beauty of a sunset can transport us to the kingdom, as can any […]

The potential to live in the kingdom, to be in the world but not of the world, lies within us all. It is part of our creation, implanted by God in our deep-soul selves, and is accessible to us if we will live the life of which Jesus speaks. Love is the chief currency of […]