To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Bing Crosby and David Bowie singing a Christmas duet? Crosby, the World War II-era crooner, was skeptical. What he knew of British rock didn’t exactly enchant him. Bowie dragged his heels, especially when he found out they would be singing a song he couldn’t stand. But Bowie’s mother was a huge Crosby… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Father Gregory Boyle directs Homeboy Industries in Los Angeles, arguably the world’s most successful ministry to the members of inner-city gangs. He is inundated by opportunities to speak around the country. It’s no surprise that he sometimes falls back on the same compelling stories. A few summers ago, Boyle was asked to… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here What’s the key relational issue in the Bible? That’s easy: It’s forgiveness. Apart from the willingness and the ability to forgive, human relationships simply hit the wall. But how do we forgive monsters – the people who have ravaged our memories, our reputations, our bodies, and our souls? Here is where… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here There were no fall harvest festivals in ancient Israel. That’s because the growing season in the Promised Land, at least from our perspective, seems to be upside-down. Yes, the so-called “latter grapes” were gathered in the middle of autumn. Otherwise, the months of October and November were for ploughing and sowing…. Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here It’s time to take on what some counselors and psychologists call the Other F Word. Fine. As in, “How are you doing?” “I’m fine, thank you.” End of conversation. End of communication. Except, “fine” hardly qualifies as an authentic meeting of minds and hearts. “Fine” can be a one-word stand-in for a remarkable… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here What drives the Literati – the lovers of what is commonly identified as Great Literature – absolutely crazy? It’s the fact that the vast majority of ordinary people would rather enjoy a fairy tale than dig into a “serious story.” The Academy Award for Best Picture is annually granted to a… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Most people have encountered, at one time or another, an inspirational piece called Footprints in the Sand. It describes a man who dreams that he is confronting God because he sees two sets of footprints when he looks back over his life – his prints and God’s prints – and is… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here In 1982, Chuck Colson brought a team of Prison Fellowship workers to the U.S. Penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. There they led a worship service for the inmates, including a number of offenders on Death Row. Colson spoke movingly of God’s gifts of hope, healing, and forgiveness, available to everyone. Then… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Sports attendance, sports betting, and sports talk represent one of the most dominant realities on the American scene. It’s all sports all the time. Right? To quote a popular sports adage, “Numbers never lie.” Let’s add together the most recent regular season total attendance figures of America’s four major professional sports… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here My mom, who stepped into the next world seven years ago at the age of 92, was somewhat eccentric. She had a lifelong love affair with chocolate and All Things Sugary. She appreciated bright colors, goofy little slogans, pictures of cats wearing tuxedos, and anything that happened to depict a moose…. Read more »
