Hiding in Plain Sight

You need not be a parent to sense the horror of a losing a child. Whenever something precious is lost – as with Mary and Joseph and their 12-year-old son in this morning’s Scripture lesson, the anguish of the moment is soul-crushing torture; the guilty questions that follow weigh heavy upon the human spirit likeContinue reading “Hiding in Plain Sight”

Treasuring and Pondering

This morning’s Scripture lesson offers the Bible’s only account of Jesus as a growing boy. On the cusp of becoming a teen-ager, Jesus and his family are back in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, and Mary and Joseph experience every parent’s worst nightmare – they lose track of Jesus and spend a frantic couple ofContinue reading “Treasuring and Pondering”

Church Is Hard

Most holiday decorations now repose in attics, closets, and basements – yet another season of Yuletide work lingering in savory, still-warm memory. But even without December’s seasonal trappings, the stories of Christmas retain their allure – like bright, red bows still tied atop the already-splendid gift of Christ’s birth. And inside that glittering package clashesContinue reading “Church Is Hard”