Listen to this piece. What is it about the mass murder of innocent children at school that troubles us so? I would dare say that elementary school killings trouble us even more so than the horrific mass shootings at shopping malls and movie theaters. Why? One reason is that many if not all of us feel some level of responsibility for school children’s wellbeing. We promise innocent school children so full of promise and potential that they are safe and sound,... Read more

Listen to this piece. You may have seen the Dos Equis beer commercials that feature the most interesting man alive. His charm is so infectious that vaccines have been developed just for it. Whereas many guys have tattoos saying “Mother,” his mother bears a tattoo saying “Son.” Unlike many men, if he had a feminine side, he would show it. His legend is so great that it goes before him like lightning before thunder. Sometimes you get the impression that... Read more

Listen to me read “Uncommon Decency”. A Macy’s employee led a customer to safety and went back to help others during the mass shooting in Clackamas Town Center yesterday. The Macy’s employee’s deed has been rightly hailed as a heroic act. It was an act of uncommon decency. We are all familiar with acts of common decency at stores: sales clerks ask us “How’s it going?” as they ring up our purchases and wish us “Merry Christmas” to which we... Read more

Listen to me read “Mass Shootings”. This afternoon there was a shooting in the middle of a major shopping mall near where I work. At least two people have been confirmed dead so far. What do such shootings say about our society? Random violence? Random lives? Random meaning? How do we respond? So often we approach one another simply as mass, where we have no inherent meaning or value. Kind of like the stuff we buy at Christmas—no inherent meaning,... Read more

Listen to me read this piece. Many Christians today are getting involved in various justice initiatives as they take to heart Jesus’ life and love that has transformed individual lives and entire communities ever since his first advent. I am excited about their passion for holistic and equitable compassion. I only hope that they will finish well the race that they have begun. It won’t be easy. “Justice” often appears sexy to people at first. But the injustices that we... Read more

I was going through a previous test for my “community and ministry” class and came upon this test item: “True or false, according to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the Christian community has enough to eat when one shares it with others. When one desires to eat in isolation, hunger ensues.” Regardless of what Bonhoeffer thought on this subject (as important as his reflections are to me), what do you think, and why? If it is the case that eating in isolation leads to... Read more

Listen to me read “Approaching the Alien with a Benevolent Spirit not an Alien Idea to President Bush—or to the Bible”.   On Tuesday, former President George W. Bush encouraged lawmakers to engage in debate on immigration reform with a benevolent spirit (The Dallas Morning News, article by Tom Benning, republished in The Columbian titled “Bush Urges New Approach to Immigration” on Wednesday, Dec. 5, A7). The former President had hoped to bring about widespread immigration reform during his tenure... Read more

NEW: Listen to me read “Cyber Bullying”. Social media isn’t always so social. In fact, it can be downright anti-social. Of course, much of this has to do with how people use it.  But there is also something built in to various forms of media that shape us in certain ways. For one, there is often an undue sense of immediacy and familiarity with social media. People feel comfortable barging into other people’s lives (especially those they don’t know) on... Read more

Compromise is at the heart of the democratic process. So, when do you compromise? Some will say that compromise is caving in, and so one should never do it. Others will say that it is meeting in the middle, and that it needs to be one’s aim for the sake of the common good of all. If it is the latter, when does a politician compromise? What is acceptable? This is especially difficult for politicians, who have responsibilities to honor... Read more

Something I’ve been pondering… Yesterday, I posted a reflection on Warren Buffett’s views on the economy. Buffett noted in an interview with Matt Lauer of TODAY that Republicans are wary of promoting taxing the richest Americans at a higher rate because they have their next election campaigns to worry about. A few blog posts ago, I mentioned that a leading African American clergyman in my city tells his parishioners and others in his community that they need to remember that... Read more