To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Organized football is not part of my past. It’s definitely not part of my present or future, either. But that hasn’t kept me off the gridiron. For a number of years our extended family pursued a Thanksgiving Day tradition. Somewhere between the turkey and the pumpkin pie we would play… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here In director M. Night Shyamalan’s 2002 movie Signs, Mel Gibson plays Graham Hess, a man who used to believe in God. In fact, he used to be an Episcopal priest. But a seemingly random and meaningless accident has taken the life of his wife, leaving him with two small children. His… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here It seems hard to believe, but just 200 years ago every respectable scientist believed that spoiled meat, all by itself, could generate maggots. The idea that non-living substances automatically morph into living creatures is known as “spontaneous generation.” Dust generates fleas. Dead cows produce wasps. Ocean sand yields barnacles. And a… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here According to historian Paul Johnson, the first time laughter is mentioned in human literature comes from the book of Genesis. It rolls out of the mouths of a couple of senior citizens: a 100-year-old man named Abraham, and his 90-year-old wife Sarah. In the Bible’s opening book, Abraham and Sarah are the recipients of… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here At every level of basketball, Stacey King was a winner. As a power forward for the Oklahoma Sooners, he became a consensus first team All-American and The Sporting News Player of the Year in 1989. King was then drafted as the sixth player overall by the Chicago Bulls. It didn’t take… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here When you change your life, you change your clothes. That’s not always literally true. But most of us have experienced life transitions that required us to adjust our wardrobe. During more than 40 years of professional ministry, I went to the office wearing long-sleeved Oxford button-down shirts. My slacks were always… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here It’s safe to say that many people find TV commercials annoying. But they’re also amazing. In the space of 30-60 seconds, a commercial has to deliver – clearly and memorably – two potentially life-altering messages. First, you are not happy. Second, happiness is just one purchase away. A truly compelling ad… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here Most people agree on the basic facts of Jesus’ life. He lived in Judea during the opening decades of the first century. He became known as a prophet, teacher, and miracle-worker. He died on a cross by order of a Roman procurator. There’s not nearly as much consensus, however, about what… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here In the late 1970s, commercial deep sea fishermen made an amazing discovery off the coast of Australia. Nearly a mile beneath the surface there were vast schools of a large, reddish-orange species of fish. They were delicious. Their filets, which exuded almost no fishy smell or taste, delighted chefs. From a… Read more »
To listen to today’s reflection as a podcast, click here When someone else is hurting, it’s tempting to think our call is to do something amazing or to say something unusually wise. But most of the time, the need of the hour is simply to show up. In his recent bestseller How to Know a Person, cultural commentator David Brooks recounts… Read more »