40,000 human skulls. They haunt me. Six weeks ago, I was in Europe, celebrating twenty-five years of marriage and visiting the towns along the Danube River. It was a wonderful trip—yet what I can’t get out of my mind is the sight of 40,000 neatly stacked human skulls, in the Sedlac Ossuary in Kutna Hora, a small town in the Czech...
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Okay. There’s a woman in the Bible that leaves me feeling a little, well unnerved. And she comes up in this Sunday’s lectionary (RCL, Year B, September 20). Described in Proverbs 31, she’s known as the “capable wife.” Unfortunately, we’re missing a few verses in Sunday’s lectionary, which makes a huge difference. Here’s how it starts on Sunday: “A good wife who...
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Almost fifteen years ago, I had cancer. It was a tough time. I prefer acupuncture and yoga, but modern medicine clearly saves lives, and saved mine. My point is this: the valley of the shadow of death is a tough place. You’re surprised by who is there—and who is not. People on the edges surprise you: a kind pharmacy assistant,...
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I’m coming out of the closet theologically. On this day, when The Episcopal Church, and several other denominations, celebrate the Annunciation — that event when the angel Gabriel visits Mary with news of God’s astounding plan — I’ll throw my cards down. I’m taking the virgin birth on face value. I come at this issue with the best of liberal credentials....
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Sensual. Tender. Loving. Discerning. Clearly Mary of Bethany was Jesus' soulmate. How else might we describe a woman who sits at Jesus’ feet, listens carefully to his every word, pours expensive oil over said feet, then dries them with her hair? Jesus has no better friend; no better listener; no better soul partner. The setting: Martha’s small home in Bethany. A scant two...
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What do we know about women in the Bible? Research conclusion #2: Start to finish, women in the Bible push against restraints, using their God given gift of free will. From the first woman to speak in the Bible (Eve) to the last (the fortune-telling slave girl in Acts), Bible women knock on doors seeking healing, redemption and freedom—or, in the case...
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In the springtime, my mother would bring lilacs inside, big armfuls of them, and put them in deep burgundy glass vases. Their fresh and wild scent filled the house, wafting through screen windows that had been hand-changed, from storms to screens, only weeks before. And maybe that’s why they smelled so good. In Minnesota, springtime is earned, not taken for granted....
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