Making room for God in your carryon
Living as I do in an urban environment, it is not usually possible to see many, if any, stars on a regular basis. Fortunately, my work takes me off the beaten path to places where there is little ambient light to obscure the night sky.
Most recently, I found myself in the desert of New Mexico at the Benedictine Abbey of Christ in the Desert on a silent retreat. There, after the sun had set, the heavens blazed.
Today, June 19th, marks the anniversary of the day Texas abolished slavery in 1865. Several states, including Texas, recognize it. The Federal Government has also recognized “Juneteenth Independence Day,” although it is not an official Federal holiday.
Perhaps of more consequence, Apple added Juneteenth to the list of official U.S. holidays this year. I’m embarrassed to admit that while I had a vague sense of Juneteenth, it wasn’t until it popped up on my phone that I started to pay attention.
So I dug deeper… Continue reading “Juneteenth”
Anyone who knows me will attest that I am fundamentally a city person. Having lived in New York City on and off for over 30 years, my instincts are well-honed and distinctly urban. I can emerge from the subway and my sense of direction is intact. I know the most likely corners on which to catch a taxi during rush hour. My knowledge of animals is limited to the best kinds of pets for apartments.
So, when I recently found myself on safaris in Zambia and Botswana, I was out of my element. Unending open space. Myriad shades of green. Where do you even begin to look?
It was disorienting.
Each year my wife and I attend St. Bartholomew’s three-hour Good Friday service. Each year I wonder how on earth I will sit through three hours of music, extended periods of silent prayer, readings on the seven last words of Christ, and a homily on each. Each year the time disappears. Continue reading “One billboard outside Sandusky, Ohio”
Last Thursday afternoon, just before heading home to New York, I stood on Mount Nebo in Jordan and looked west to the Promised Land. Mount Nebo is where Moses stood at the end of his life, having led the Israelites in the desert for forty years, and died.
Today there is a modern Catholic church built over the remains of an ancient Byzantine church on Mount Nebo. The mosaics from the Byzantine church have been beautifully restored and are displayed as part of the modern church’s design.
A good pilgrimage leaves one with more questions than answers and this one has not disappointed. Several evenings we were blessed to have guests come and talk with us about the current situation here in the Holy Land. It’s hard not to be discouraged. How does one get to a just peace? What does that even mean?
But I did see God moving in the lives of those most heartbroken by the conflict. It was in their brokenness that I found hope.
I’m a planner. Some of that is by necessity. But, I confess, a good bit of it is by nature. And what does God do when you make plans? God laughs. Continue reading “God Laughs”
In keeping with my desire to observe Advent by seeking out beauty (see my November 28th post) and my fascination with Salvator Mundi (see my November 14th post), I just finished reading Walter Isaacson’s masterful and insightful biography of Leonardo Da Vinci.
Isaacson concludes his book by identifying twenty characteristics that make a genius. Isaacson has given this list some thought, having written biographies of Benjamin Franklin, Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and now Leonardo.
So what does it take? Continue reading “Twenty characteristics that make a genius”
This Sunday, the First Sunday in Advent, will mark a new liturgical year. We tend to gloss over that in our culture, focused as we are on the big event: Christmas Day. However, Advent is one of the places where one can feel God at work in the world. Here are five ways to make space for God during Advent. Continue reading “Five Advent Lessons”
Every year it feels as if I come screeching into Thanksgiving. This year that feeling is particularly acute. Continue reading “Giving Thanks”
