Despite not posting much this year, I could hardly forfeit the customary (see previous year-end lists below) opportunity to compile a best-of list. Here are a few general observations from the compiling:I didn't see a single film in the cinema this year, for the first time since I can recall. The films I did see … Continue reading Best of 2019
Witness: From Thin to Thick
Photo by M.T ElGassier on Unsplash The following was written for and presented at a plenary panel on "Work, Worship, and Witness" at the tenth annual Society of Vineyard Scholars conference, May 2, 2019, Minneapolis. Early on the morning of the resurrection, while it was still dark, the Gospel of John tells us that Mary … Continue reading Witness: From Thin to Thick
Schools of Spiritual Formation (Fall 2019)
Over the last few years, I have had the great privilege of being involved with an organization called Sustainable Faith. It's no understatement to say that the organization, the schools it facilitates, and the friendships I have made therein have transformed my life. As a result, I am not the same person I was even … Continue reading Schools of Spiritual Formation (Fall 2019)
What is Lent?
Photo by Fancycrave on Unsplash Dear People of God: The first Christians observed with great devotion the days of our Lord’s passion and resurrection, and it became the custom of the Church to prepare for them by a season of penitence and fasting. This season of Lent provided a time in which converts to the … Continue reading What is Lent?
Driven into Wilderness (Year One, 1 Epiphany, Monday)
Photo by Kiwihug on Unsplash After much reflection and research, I purchased a lovely two-volume set of "Revised Office Readings" in preparation for 2019. There are various lectionaries (or collections/lists of scripture readings appointed for any given day of the year) and I have found them useful both in deciding what to read, and in … Continue reading Driven into Wilderness (Year One, 1 Epiphany, Monday)
Becoming a Father
I've always wanted to have children. When Jennifer and I got married, I was slightly reticent if only because I wanted to prolong marital bliss and because I assumed that the second we started trying, we'd get pregnant. We fawned over baby clothes, imagining how cute our beige child would look. We even bought some tiny, … Continue reading Becoming a Father
Prayer as Movement
When I lived in Israel, my favourite "holy site" - by far - was the Garden of Gethsemane. Christian tradition holds Gethsemane as the place where Jesus heaved in gruelling prayer (even sweating drops of blood, according to the gospel of Luke) prior to being betrayed and arrested. Suitably, the episode is often described as "the Agony." … Continue reading Prayer as Movement
Silence: Love Suffers Long in Scorcese’s Latest
Warning: Contains Spoilers. Moments before Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield) apostatizes (that is, abandons the faith), he sees five bodies mummified in burlap, hanging upside down in pits. Their necks have been nicked, slightly, to prevent blood from amassing in their heads in favour of it dripping into the pits. They are alive, groaning into the night … Continue reading Silence: Love Suffers Long in Scorcese’s Latest
The Humility of God (Part Two)
Read Part One Here Around 1764, Catherine the Great acquired a collection of paintings - including several Rembrandt's - that would subsequently hang in galleries connecting various pavilions of the Winter Palace and Imperial Hermitage. I don't believe The Return of the Prodigal Son was one of these initial acquisitions, but it makes sense that … Continue reading The Humility of God (Part Two)
The Humility of God (Part One)
This summer, my parents invited Jennifer and me (for a two year wedding anniversary gift!) on an eleven-day Scandinavian cruise. You read that right. The itinerary included stops in Norway, Germany, Estonia, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark, as well as two days in St. Petersburg, Russia. There was so much beauty to imbibe, from the vastness … Continue reading The Humility of God (Part One)
Writing Is Prayer 