“Who am I?” Without any effort, I can recall the sound of Derek Zoolander’s voice as he looks at his reflection in a puddle and asks himself this question (before being splashed in the face by an oncoming car). Everything he thought he knew (which wasn’t much, really) was stripped from him in a moment when Hansel, who’s “so hot…
When I close my eyes to fall asleep, I am afraid of the world I will meet in my dreams. What – or who – did I push to the back of my mind today that’s destined to meet me in my most vulnerable state? What battles will I have to fight in the land of my dreams? What tears…
I got fitted for my first set of contacts almost two years ago. After less than a week, they became my litmus test for when I needed to drink more water. Until that time, I never understood how much I needed to listen to my eyes. My eyes tell me more than what is happening around me. Their enormous weight…
“What does wilderness look like for you?” Often, I find it hard to describe the wilderness I feel myself in, because I don’t want to journey there more than is necessary. I don’t want to walk into the vast, open space where the air is sucked away from me. Where my clothes are stripped bare and I stand exposed and…
Chocolate. Facebook. TV. Telephone. Soft drinks. Fast Food. Every year, Lent conveniently falls just far enough after New Year’s that the practice of fasting often becomes a new way to attain the resolution we previously dropped. We stop eating chocolate or give up soft drinks with the “side benefit” that we will lose weight in the process. But, other than…
I was 16 when I first started talking seriously about where I would spend my college years. New York University took the early lead. I refused to give credence to any other school in the country. I was bound for New York City, where I would no doubt spend my days in class and my evenings playing viola in a…
My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me? Possibly the most quoted lament of all time (followed closely by “My kingdom for a horse”). On the cross, Jesus cries out familiar words to most present – words that drive me to lament every time I have to read the Aramaic out loud at our Tenebrae service. Elohi, Elohi, lama sabachthani? I bear…
From dust you came and to dust you shall return.
Tonight, I will repeat these words over and over as I look into the eyes of church members – people who count on my to reveal the presence of God in their midst. People who look to me for hope and wholeness. People who come week in and week out, seeking the God who creates and sustains.
Many people talk about giving things up for Lent. Some give up chocolate, others Facebook. Some of my crazier friends give up sugar or coffee (essentially, they are giving up all their friends for 40 days, because I’m not sure how they will function – or be pleasant). The practice started as a way to join Jesus in the wilderness,…
If you know me well, you know that I love the first day of a new month. Maybe it’s a result of my Southern Baptist upbringing, twinged with guilt and the overwhelming need for “redemption,” but something about a fresh start refreshes my mind and renews my soul. I love the first day of a new month, because the day…
Rev. on the Edge 