Analogy Is in the Eye of the Beholder

About 30 years ago a young adult in the church I pastored commented to some friends that I could be the brother of… (It was obvious the sentence would conclude with a celebrity reference, so I thought, “well, I part my hair like him, and we’re about the same age, so...

The Resurrection Has Changed History

A 17 year old high school senior, the day after my partner and I won the tournament for the largest debate camp in the country, I woke to no fans outside my bedroom window, no keys to the city, not even a mention in our ultra-local newspaper. Although the world had...

The Annual Commemoration of Christ’s Passion

John taught his disciples to pray and fast, yearning for a deliverance which had been hiding for centuries just beyond the horizon. This is why Jesus contrasts John’s fasting disciples with his own: “Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?”...

The Choice Between the Two

It is a chilly Monday morning and I stand with hundreds of others waiting for the busses we have just seen depart to return so they can also shuttle us from a parking lot near the finish line of this MLK Day parade to our designated location near its starting point. A...

A Version of DEET-against-Humanity

The sun is setting behind a ridge across the lake when I notice a couple of things simultaneously. First, insects are not bothering me. I have watched and photographed the sunset for about 20 minutes and have not experienced a single buzz or bite—a stark contrast...

The Help We Really Need

“I could use some help,” I say to the nurse at a retreat center where kids from my church are in camp. “My thumb has been sore for a while and isn’t getting better.” A couple of months prior (when I was young and volleyball nets were much lower) I dislocated my thumb...