Camino II — Maybe a little too much Mary?
Mary On Display and for Sale Mary is everywhere here, as she was in the cathedrals and churches in Spain where Sally and I walked in 2022. Now, I like Mary, so a lot of Mary is mostly okay with me, not that being okay with me is any kind of requirement for anyone’s thinking on anything, including Mary. But today was ...
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A Dog’s Death—A Family’s Grief
Not The Same, I know I know that there is a difference between the death of a child and the death of a dog, or any animal pet. I’m not oblivious to this important distinction. If you have lost a child or someone too soon, then grant me leeway please. I know the two are not the same, but I also know that they are not ...
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Riding the Waves
Religious Waves I’m told by surfers that the key to surfing is not riding the wave, but catching it. As a pastor for over 40 years I tried to catch and then ride every wave that came my way. There was, for one, the church growth movement in the early 80s. A guy named Lyle Schaller was the guru. He gave us a plethora ...
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Holy Wound
(The Sixth Wound of Jesus—carrying the cross.) Call To Prayer June 25, 2007 It is Sunday morning, four o’clock, and I am standing on the roof terrace just outside our apartment in East Jerusalem. It is jet lag that has me awake at this 4th watch of the night. And it’s dark – no moon, no hint of ...
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Father Abraham and Sons
Old Man Look At My Life (A Bible Story) The old man reclines with his back against a bent old tree. It’s hard to tell one from the other, both look tired. It is the middle of the day and the old man is sleeping, snoring softly with his head leaning down on his right shoulder. A small drop of ...
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I See You!
May 24, 2006 (The photo was taken by me in May of 2006. It is of a Palestinian Christian Girl Scout waiting for the parade to begin. It is a gentle reminder of the stakes in the games we adults play. I keep hoping that it is the children who will motivate us to stop playing war games. In 2006, Sally and my first ...
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A Perfect Gentleman (January ‘06)
January 16, 2006 — My very first blog post from Jerusalem. Bus 36 Actual Bus Bus 36 to Jerusalem, our bus. We’re beginning to recognize the drivers, and they us. Two tickets, 7 shekels – about a buck-fifty. I smile and nod. Today he nods back – smiles are hard to come by around here. It’s a Monday, ...
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