Kristin Berkey-Abbott

The earthiness of Jesus' cure of the blind man in John 9 recalls all of the ways that God uses basic elements in creation and salvation.

My church goes off-lectionary frequently. Part of me is sympathetic: I, too, grow weary of the cycle at times, and I long for something different to ponder. Part of me mourns the fact that we're not in sync with the larger Christian world; when we're on-lectionary, I love knowing that Christians of all sorts throughout the world are reading the same texts. On Sunday my church heard about the Babylonian exile. 

Thirty years ago this morning, the space shuttle Challenger exploded. I happened to be in a car and heard the news on the radio. It wasn't until hours later that I saw the footage. I was not a fan of President Reagan, but he had some leadership skills that I've come to admire. 

This Sunday we get  . . .  John the Baptist. Again? Really? Isn't it time for an angel to make an appearance? I'm tired of having John the Baptist call me a viper.

In my much younger years, I remember having heated arguments with my parents about money—but not the kind of arguments you might expect. My parents tried to train us to have good money sense, which included talking about how we would spend our money. In my rebellious years, I didn't think I should give money to charity. I had an attitude that might be typical: "I earned it; why should I give it to charity? What did they do to deserve any of my money?" We may have been the only family talking about the idea of tithing as we ate our family meals.

I think that Martin Luther should have kept marriage as a sacrament. Why?...