Every time she enters his presence, according to all four gospels, she reaches his heart. His attention is drawn to her. And his heart opens. She is Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, with whom she shares a home. We don’t know when they met Jesus, but we know he turns up in their home often. At least twice he comes for dinner, including today’s story. The Last supper is held here. And he appears on Easter to the disciples... Read more

It is truly mindboggling how the life of Jesus, a man conceived out of wedlock by a woman who made up her own mind to get pregnant without consulting her father, her mother, her rabbi or her fiancé, has been twisted by a shame-inducing mega-corporation, the Roman Church, run by judgmental and merciless men. Christian sexual shaming, marketed in God’s name, flies in the face of Jesus’ storied actions in defense of prostitutes and his public reputation for socializing with... Read more

We could call this the Year of the Prodigal. Those high-flyers, Donald Trump and Bernie Sanders, have each played outside the rules of the political establishment, and they are each enjoying a feast that makes the establishment mad as hops. The outraged howls – unqualified nose-thumbers, ego-driven mavericks, not-ready-for-prime-time power– are heard, but not as loudly or insistently as the noise of the cheering throngs who are ready to help them feast. It’s likely all of us are aghast at... Read more

  The Red Carpet. The fabulous stars. Millions of dollars’ worth of couturier gowns. Jewels that spend most of the year locked away in safes. The buzz about who came with a new man, whose marriage is on the rocks, who brought mom.  And all this is before you enter the great hall where the Oscars will be awarded, for the Best Actors, Film, Scripts, Song. The whole thing reeks of money, power, bling – it’s a palace of pretenses.... Read more

It’s terribly hard work to persuade people to hope. Especially in bleak times, but even in good times, we hide our broken hearts, failures, losses, believing in the power of evil and not wanting to be hurt again. Lent is a growing season, an aspirational journey, and a walk through the valley of the shadow of death.  Hope draws us on. Jesus, preaching hope on the road, urges people to work for the vision of God, for a new world. ... Read more

Trump’s campaign slogan makes my brain hurt. It doesn’t have a clear meaning. It’s a marketing slogan. A feeling. Not an idea. I have to admire the marketing. Putting this slogan on baseball caps, the all-American hat, is a stroke of genius.  It makes supporting Trump sporting as well as patriotic. Then again, the billionaire looks folksy when he wears it. It brands him, one-of-us. The art of politics is to get folks riled up about something you can put... Read more

            That Fox! Jesus called Herod.  He’d been told he’d better hide, Herod was after him.  And he knew it was no joke. John the Baptist had been beheaded.  So he added, Tell him I’m still alive, and still doing all the things he fears the most. I’m paraphrasing here, Jesus was more specific, about things he was doing that empowered poor, sick people.  But the point is, Jesus knew Herod’s motivation was fear. Foxes... Read more

Listening for a voice that holds up a kingdom vision. Read more

Most Americans, I’d guess, think of temptation as something politics leads you into. And of course this is right. Power tends to corrupt, famously wrote Lord Acton, the 19th c. British politician and Catholic writer known as the magistrate of history, and he added, absolutely power corrupts absolutely. Most politicians advertise that they are not about power, they are about goodness.  Usually, good times as well.  Often with a drumbeat of freedom as their theme. And even, salvation. The temptations... Read more

Thinking about the clash between Hillary and Bernie over her speech fee from Goldman Sachs. Read more