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March 2020

March 29, 2020

Step back, be quiet, and be at peace

My friend Mitch, who is the priest-in-charge at the Episcopal church I attend, has asked...

March 10, 2020

Do You Love Your Life?

Although I read all the time--I once told my ophthalmologist that that I read for...

March 08, 2020

God Is Not Choosing the Next President–We Are

The regular season of Providence Friars basketball ended last Saturday; after a remarkable end of...

February 2020

February 24, 2020

A Lenten Reflection: The Difference Between Solitude and Being Alone

The greatest thing in the world is to know how to belong to yourself. Michel...

February 15, 2020

The Prophet Isaiah Goes to the National Prayer Breakfast

I was the scheduled lector at the 8:00 service last Sunday, the first time I...

February 13, 2020

“Custodians of each other’s well-being”–A Reflection for Valentine’s Week

Human love in the purest forms we can know it, wife and husband, parent and...

January 2020

January 20, 2020

Some thoughts on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day: Are we better than this?

On this Martin Luther King Jr. Day, I am reminded of a few days I...

December 2019

December 19, 2019

I Will Bring You Home

Baptist preacher’s kids get to do some very odd things. I memorized large portions of...

November 2019

November 27, 2019

My Advent Wish: Peace Be To You

Advent begins this coming Sunday. I was raised in a version of Christianity that had...

November 21, 2019

What Are You Afraid Of?

I had the opportunity to spend a couple of hours with a young man named...

September 2019

September 28, 2019

Being Open to the Possibility of God: An excerpt from my new book “Prayer for People Who Don’t Believe in God”

I am pleased to announce that my new book, Prayer for People Who Don't Believe in...

August 2019

August 08, 2019

We are not better than this, and this is exactly who we are

In the aftermath of two more mass shootings last Saturday, I read a number of...

August 04, 2019

The National Cathedral Speaks Truth to Donald Trump

“Christians Tired of Being Misrepresented.” “I’m Not That Kind of Christian.” “The Christian Left.” These...

July 2019

July 07, 2019

What Are We Doing When We Pray?

I am currently in the middle of working through the proofs of my forthcoming book,...

May 2019

May 21, 2019

Rise, Kill, and Eat: A Story About Learning to See Things Differently

Iris Murdoch was one of the philosophers whose work was front and center in my...

May 07, 2019

Why Did Jesus Like Little Children So Much?

One of the stories that was emphasized regularly in the Baptist Sunday school of my...

April 2019

April 18, 2019

Staying Awake: A Holy Thursday Reflection

Some people can sleep anywhere. One of those people was a student in one of...

March 2019

March 11, 2019

Lent Without Religion

I love the cycle of the liturgical year, the anticipation of Advent, the joy of...

March 05, 2019

Partnering with God (even when one isn’t sure who or what God is)

A Jewish friend of mine told me a number of years ago that Judaism is...

January 2019

January 26, 2019

When it Comes to Prayer, Stop Talking and Start Relating

One of the most fascinating and troubling verses in the Jewish scriptures is from the...

January 06, 2019

Alexa, Hear My Prayer

I read a fascinating article in the November 2018 edition of The Atlantic that explores the various...

December 2018

December 11, 2018

Advent is for Introverts

I was raised in a version of Christianity that had no sense of the liturgical...

November 2018

November 15, 2018

Mary, Martha, and Time Management

The stereotype of the Type A personality has become an entrenched part of cultural lore....

October 2018

October 07, 2018

It Don’t Matter

It's been a rough couple of months at our house, as two members of the...

September 2018

September 30, 2018

Putting Out the Welcome Mat: Who is Welcome at Your Place of Worship?

In her wonderful book Take This Bread, Sara Miles describes a conversation she had with...

September 25, 2018

Obsessed with the Apocalypse

Last spring I taught a colloquium called "Apocalypse" with a colleague from the English department....

September 13, 2018

The Sun, the Moon, and Prayer

Shortly before the 2013 conclave that would elect him as Pope Francis I, then Cardinal...

September 04, 2018

Whatever Prayer Is For, It Isn’t That

A week ago, the small Episcopal church that I frequently attend moved its morning services...

August 2018

August 02, 2018

The Whatevers

Although I regularly find myself immersed in things medieval with a bunch of freshmen every...

July 2018

July 26, 2018

The Never-Ending Prayer

As I do initial work on my new book on prayer (contract now signed!), I...

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