Aug 17, 2014 | church, lament, news, theodicy
Weep, o church, for God has been shot in the streets. O God, we have sinned against you in thought, in word, and in deed. Hang your head, o church, for failing to attend God’s wake. We have left undone everything that we ought to have done. Cry out and gnash...
Dec 9, 2013 | Christmas, lament, Monday Muse, theodicy
The second Sunday of Advent has passed. The second candle in the Advent wreath has been lit in the name of peace. The tree has been cut from a hillside of firs or pulled out of storage and assembled in the living room. The Christmas shopping list has been checked and...
Dec 28, 2012 | lament, news, theodicy
Don’t ask the snow “Where is God?” as though the snow can respond to your cries echoing over its white crust. The snow has done its best to disguise the traces of your violence and hatred; its job is not to soothe your conscience. Don’t...
Dec 22, 2012 | Advent, mystery, prayer, theodicy
Did you hesitate, O Holy One, when you looked at the state of things and imagined the pain of immersing yourself in it? Did you debate with yourself when you saw across the expense of time and realized that we wouldn’t change much in the long run? Did you...
Dec 16, 2012 | Advent, nature, news, psalm, theodicy
Will the dawn bring good news? Will the birds with their morning song bring an encouraging report to my ears? Will the frost be found to have serenely blanketed yesterday’s pain so that, in fact, it is erased and undone? Alas, no. See there: the wounds of our...
Dec 10, 2012 | Advent, lament, prayer, theodicy
Here my cry, O God of my sister Hagar, for the longing that aches without a balm, for the love that dreams without fulfillment. You have called me to the outskirts and abandoned me here without warning; you have shown me a vision of possibility but closed every door...
