Pity the nation whose people are sheep
And whose shepherds mislead them

An aged man reached up to the top of his heirloom walnut bookcase
His venous arm grabbed a book of teachable stories his Dad had told

Looking for a spiritual retreat to tide you over in quiet contemplation during the holy days leading up to Hanukkah, Winter Solstice, Christmas, Kwanzaa, New Year’s Day, and Epiphany? Here are many choices — some Christian and inclusive, others multifaith — from which you can find a perfect match for your needs.

As suggested by the title, the book takes a progressive approach to religion, seeing the critical biblical analysis of the past 200 years and the discoveries of science as friends rather than enemies in the ongoing quest for truth.

Is resurrection just a story
Or is it the uncovering of our sight
Some of the greatest followers
Did not recognize the one they once knew

This 6 week study includes Lent 1 – Palm/Passion Sunday and follows the Revised Common Lectionary (YEAR A, B or C) text selections.

This 6 week study includes Lent 1 – Palm/Passion Sunday and follows the Revised Common Lectionary (YEAR A, B or C) text selections.

This 6 week study includes Lent 1 – Palm/Passion Sunday and follows the Revised Common Lectionary (YEAR A, B or C) text selections.

Young Joseph the dreamer was sent o’er the border —
No say in the matter — it wasn’t his plan.
He entered the country and as he got older,
He worked with ambition to make it his land.

The Song of Solomon is a steamy romance between a man and a woman.  For thousands of years, Jewish and Christian theologians attempted to define the Song of Solomon as a long allegory about God’s love for humanity.  God was the lover and human beings were the beloved.  This was a creative interpretation of the text, but certainly not the first meaning that leaps off the pages.

Religious Naturalism (RN) has two central aspects. One is a naturalist view of how things happen in the world—in which the natural world is all there is, and that nothing other than natural may cause events in the world. From nature we came, in nature we are, to nature we go… The other is appreciation of religion with a view that nature can be a focus of religious attention – the ‘cosmic religious feeling’ as Einstein called it.

But the Bible is not just a sacred book
It is also human book
full of the writings of the spiritually young
who only partly understood

“I want to be free!” screamed Little Flower, as loudly as she could – which wasn’t very.All the flowers around her sighed in the breeze.  “There she goes again….””I want to fly!” she roared, though it sounded more like a whimper.

We respond in awe to our life in God’s realm.
The Essence of Creation encompasses us,

Went with the gotta go urge
On a week ending, road bending
Wheels a turning ramble
Past the malls and urban tangle

The several dozen poems in this collection echo numerous Biblical Psalms, providing spiritual expressions for contemporary meditation and life. The inspirations for these poems are broadly selected from Abraham’s family, Kings David and Solomon, the Prophets, Jesus, and Epistle writers. For most of the universal emotions which make the 2500 year old praises so poignant, from cries of despondency to elation, there are expressions in this book to convey many yearnings to the ears of God. Topics, concepts, and language are current.

At the end of a short story by Heinrich von Kleist there is the line: “I would not have found you to be such a devil if you had not presented yourself as being so angelic.”

I realized that this can apply to our conceptions of God. We have been told many bizarre things about God that have led to unrealistic expectations. So I start with the famous quote from Bonhoeffer “God is weak and powerless in the world…” and explore a proper relationship given this fact.

As a follow-up to last week’s post, “Thank You for the Body that Loves Me,” I present another meditation on our earthiness, another in a series of reflections from my earlier books that I hope may lift our spirits in this new year. The series opened with “Peace of Mind” and will continue throughout the season of Epiphany and, who knows, maybe beyond.