My title today comes from one of my favorite authors, JRR Tolkien, in his classic The Fellowship of the Ring. The poem reminds us to look beyond initial appearances, which can deceive. All that is gold does not glitter,Not all those who wander are lost;The old that is strong does not wither,Deep roots are not
This week, Muslims worldwide celebrated Eid al-Adha, or the Festival of Sacrifice. This holiday commemorates the story of the prophet Ibrahim, visited by Allah in a dream and asked to sacrifice his son Ismail as a sign of his devotion to Allah. He nearly does so, only to be stopped at the last minute with
At a recent Chaplain training class we started sharing how God has shown up in our lives. Each of us kept getting more excited as we shared how God has organized our lives so miraculously. Suddenly a class member burst out with “How About That God!”. When I talk about God showing up in our
Our question this month is, “Where am I going?” Last week we looked at the ultimate question – where are we going at death? This week, we shift our focus to look at our journey through our years and seasons. Sister Joan Chittister writes that “life is made up of the turning of the years.”
Come back with me. It is July 8, 1741. You are sitting in a pew at First Church of Christ in Enfield, Connecticut. You are a British subject, as America’s independence is 35 years in the future. The colonies are in the grip of what we now call the First Great Awakening, when a rush
As we study the wisdom of teachers and sages through the centuries, we see that many caution against the same very common misstep many of us make. That trap involves confusing illusion with reality, appearances with truth. We all do it, individually and collectively. Why does this matter? Because illusion leads us to pain and