Bloom where you are planted. Handstitched and framed in blue, these words adorned the wall of my grandmother’s kitchen. My mother repeated them to me during my first semester away at...

The disciples, amazed by Jesus’ demands, plead, “Increase our faith!” Jesus then responds with a parable that, at first glance, seems rather harsh. A servant doesn’t receive special praise for obedience....

The wide-ranging sources of sorrow and human suffering can overwhelm us. We may feel tempted to add tears of self-pity to our long list of tears. Why is life so hard?...

Join with me” Paul urges Timothy, “in suffering for the gospel.” “For this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher” he writes. “For this reason I...

For eight years my wife and I lived in Scotland. Our three oldest children were born there. I remember how my parents would cry when, after a short visit with them...

Psalm 137 is, as previously noted, written from the perspective of those carried off into captivity in Babylon. Verses 1-6 give voice to moving and heartrending lament. Weeping grows into rage,...

Like Lamentations 1, Psalm 137 is a poem of lament arising from Israel’s captivity in Babylon. Lamentations 1 is written from the perspective of those left behind in Jerusalem. Psalm 137...

One of the great Motown hits of the 1960s is the Smokey Robinson song, “The Tracks of My Tears.” Three of the four passages we’ll encounter this week mention weeping in...

A few years ago, I helped celebrate Holy Communion at an affluent church. We used the liturgy of The Great Thanksgiving for Advent. In the middle of the liturgy, the celebrant...

Wake up. Go to work. Sit in traffic. Engage with members of your family. Eat. Go to bed. Rinse. Repeat. For many people, this pattern represents a good life (well, minus...