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August 2018

August 21, 2018

Hail Frieda, Full of Grace

Six years ago today, after a great deal of resistance, I finally followed the advice...

August 16, 2018

Get Up, Kill, and Eat

I grew up in hunting country where at the appropriate times each year the males...

August 14, 2018

Remember You are Dust

I've been thinking about ashes lately. I just finished reading Sara Miles's City of God, a...

August 02, 2018

The Whatevers

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

July 2018

July 29, 2018

Like this God Stuff is Real

In her wonderful memoir Take This Bread, Sara Miles tells us of a conversation she...

June 2018

June 28, 2018

Does Everything Work Together for Good?

Jeanne and I recently had the opportunity to see a local community theater’s production of...

June 10, 2018

What Do You Do When No One Is Watching?

Hey Justin! What if you had a ring that made you invisible when you put...

June 08, 2018

The Little Red Haired Girl’s Birthday

Tomorrow is my wife Jeanne's birthday--join me in celebrating this wonderful event by reading my...

June 05, 2018

Jesus Has a Bad Day

A conversation heard behind the scenes: Dude! Did you see what just happened?? How could...

May 2018

May 20, 2018

Pentecost and Graduation Day

Today is my college's Commencement--it is also Pentecost Sunday. In keeping with my attraction to...

May 18, 2018

A Prayer for Graduates on Commencement Weekend

May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships,...

May 15, 2018

Hello Darkness, My Old Friend

Hello darkness, my old friend, I’ve come to talk to you again. “The Sound of Silence”...

May 13, 2018

Her Children Rise Up and Call Her Blessed

I once learned something interesting about giraffes from one of my colleagues. He was lecturing...

April 2018

April 26, 2018

White Privilege and the Gospels

In my General Ethics class, my students and I have just finished a three week...

April 22, 2018

How Do I Get There?–A Reflection for Good Shepherd Sunday

Tomorrow is "Good Shepherd Sunday," including the 23rd Psalm--a text so familiar that it is...

April 17, 2018

The Best Story Ever

In the aftermath of Easter, Christians often enjoy retelling various stories about Jesus from the...

April 01, 2018

An Easter Cautionary Tale: Jesus Isn’t Walking Through That Door

God is not an insurance agent. H. G. Wells During Rick Pitino’s tenure as the...

March 2018

March 18, 2018

There Is A God, But I Do Not Believe In HIm

God would have us know that we must live as people who manage our lives...

March 17, 2018

Celebrating Saint Bridget’s Day

A little over a year ago, as I dressed after working out, I had a...

March 13, 2018

Dr. Seuss, an Unborn Child, and Why Each Of Us Matters

Dr. Seuss was a regular in our house when my sons were young—my thirty-something sons...

March 09, 2018

Do I (Still) Really Hate Donald Trump?

Last Sunday's gospel gives us John's version of Jesus "going Brooklyn" on the moneychangers in...

March 08, 2018

How Atheists and Theists Can Get Along

This coming week I will be starting a unit with my General Ethics students called...

February 2018

February 27, 2018

Why Teachers Should Not Be Armed

As a proposed step in our continuing struggle to address gun violence in schools, President...

February 22, 2018

Invading the Impossible

A few months ago, the gospel reading from Luke prompted our rector and my friend...

February 20, 2018

Beauty for Ashes, or Why Lent is a Bad Idea

One sunny morning in September 1983, when I was struggling in my late twenties with...

February 13, 2018

Lent is for Lovers

This year, for the first time since 1945, Ash Wednesday and Valentine's Day fall on...

January 2018

January 28, 2018

Changing the Water

A few weeks ago, Jeanne said “I want a fish.” This was a rather random...

January 07, 2018

An Epiphany

Today is the First Sunday after the Epiphany (which was celebrated yesterday). I'm at a...

December 2017

December 30, 2017

God Said It. I Believe It. That Settles It–Best of “Bearings Online” #4

I occasionally write articles for Bearings Online, the online publication of the Collegeville Institute for Ecumenical...

December 26, 2017

When God Doesn’t Meet Our Expectations

What would you call a friend who is as unpredictable as the weather, who shows...

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