The exploding sky
As a teenager in Hawaii, I watched a nearby test of a nuclear weapon. It was the most terrifying thing I’ve ever seen.
We have to be willing to begin again
This is true of failures in writing, in faith, in life itself.
Which new books deserve a spot under the Christmas tree?
We asked our contributing editors to each pick two.
Emily Dickinson and Søren Kierkegaard joke about considering the lilies
Who I'd invite to my writers' dinner party
Books as guides: Fall books: Reading habits
I am seldom without reading material—the Economist is my staple for doctors’ waiting rooms—but lately I find it more difficult to concentrate on reading that requires sustained atten...
God is love: This is no joke
We use flippancy and
irony to shield ourselves from feeling. We relegate love to the
realm of the romantic and sentimental, and dismiss it.
Kathleen Norris's formative moments
My formal theological training began and ended with a course on the
scriptures in eighth grade, leaving me with all the faults of the...
Books to start with
What book would you recommend to someone eager to learn more about Christianity, someone who is just coming alive to the faith and to the power of the community of faith—the church...
The Given Day: A Novel
Dennis Lehane, author of Mystic River, has given us an important novel about America, one I am grateful to have at a time when many truths about our...
Keep seeking: Isaiah 9:1-4; Psalm 27:1, 4-9; 1 Cor. 1:10-18; Matt. 4:12-23
Light is light. And only light can bring our fragmented darkness into proper perspective and allow us to see things whole.
Come and see: Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 40:1-11; 1 Cor. 1:1-9; John 1:29-42
I am often at a loss for words when people ask me what I think. To me, thinking—making clear and linear progress through my mental swamp—is drudgery that I perform only when it is necessary....
Marked for a purpose: Isaiah 42:1-9; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17
Several years ago I was invited to preach on this gospel passage from Matthew at the National Cathedral on the Sunday designated to honor the state of Hawaii....
Open paths: 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16; Luke 1:26-38, 47-55
My favorite Christmas book is The Donkey’s Dream, which is about the journey Mary and Joseph made to Bethlehem. Meant for young children, Barbara Helen Berger’s story is a brilliant and subtle work of theology. Or perhaps antitheology, as it allows simple images to tell us more than words can convey about what the incarnation signifies.
Zealous hopes
We have many defenses against hearing the Christmas readings and taking them to heart.