“My hope for Greensboro is that this horrific experience, this tragedy in the taking of five lives, can be transformed by the power of the Spirit, into a case where there is more generosity, and more justice, and more respect for the essence and the dignity of humankind.”  –Rev. Nelson Johnson Reverend Nelson Johnson[…]

“Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man  has nowhere to lay his head.” –Luke 9:58  Jesus demonstrates the remarkable capacity to be “at home” everywhere.  It is a defining characteristic of his ministry.  Jesus’  practice of forgiveness is  manifested in an openness and availability to all  people[…]

Let me suggest that we consider forgiveness as a “way of being:’”  being with one another; being with the world; and being with ourselves. Such a way necessarily (1) impacts our ability to enter into the experiences of others (2) empowers us to offer hospitality and receive the “other” gratefully (3) equips us to make[…]

“Simon, son of John, do you love me?”–John 21:16 “Doesn’t forgiveness let people off the hook ?, ” I am regularly asked; “What will make someone accountable for their actions if they are forgiven before they actually change?”  This leads to many fruitful discussions.  For the purpose of this post, let me cut to the[…]

“The important thing is to have a strong center, not strong boundaries.”  –Kay Pranis

“So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  What God has joined together, let no one separate.” — Matthew 19:6 Freedom is essential to covenant; it is indispensable to the truth of love.   The familiar words, “What God has joined together ” are often invoked at weddings.  They are drawn from the 19th[…]

In his excellent piece, “The Process of Forgiveness in Marriage and the Family,” psychologist Dr. Paul W.Coleman offers an  important insight: “Often, a spouse may have to forgive a parent or grandparent before he or she can fully forgive his or her partner.  As a rule of thumb,the longer a marriage problem has existed despite[…]

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Luke 5:1-11 offers us the compelling narrative of Jesus calling his first disciples. Jesus comes into the story as the place, the person, in whom heaven and earth meet.  He perceives the same horizon running through another as he encounters Simon.    When Jesus says, “Let’s set out into the deep water and let down[…]

“He has sent me to proclaim sight to the blind.”–Luke 4:18 My friend Susan lived with her family on the African continent for a number of years.  She fondly remembers the way people in Botswana customarily greeted each other in the midst of daily life: “I see you!,” they would say, taking care to make[…]