The Message translation of the Bible is often misunderstood and taken for colloquial interpretation. But when the reader understands the depth of spiritual formation out of which the author, pastor, theologian Eugene Peterson wrote, the words become language in which we encounter something about God we could not know otherwise. Below is part of the passage from Matthew we know as the Sermon on the Mount , just the beginning which we call the Beatitudes . Beatitude means bl

Let me bring a little bread, that you may refresh yourselves, Genesis 18. 1 - 16 In today's reading from Genesis, three men arrive at Abraham's tent as they wander in the desert. Abraham immediately jumps up and invites them in, offering them a meal of bread and meat and what we would call good old fashioned hospitality. It is an early story about welcoming the stranger and the blessing that comes upon one who does that. Before the wanderers leave, they say Abraham and Sara

"Now you have conceived and shall bear a son; you shall call him Ishmael, for the Lord has given heed to your affliction." Genesis 16. 1 - 14 The first line in the novel Moby Dick by Herman Melville is "Call me Ishmael," and it has come to be known as the classic way a novelist tells the reader the narrator is quintessentially unreliable. It is like saying, "oh just call me Joe." Without going into all the ways to recognize "Ishmael's" unreliability, we might ask ourselve

"He who learns must suffer. And even in our sleep, pain that cannot forget falls drop by drop upon the heart, until, in our own despair, against our will, comes wisdom to us by the awful grace of God".  These words from Aeschylus, ancient Greek writer often described as the father of tragedy who preceded Jesus by at least five hundred years, followed the call and commissioning of Abram by about 1500 years. They were also used by Robert F. Kennedy in his speech the night Ma

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness--on them light has shined. Isaiah 9. 1 - 4 Winter Storm Fern is bearing down on 40 states in my country, reaching across about 2300 miles, affecting about 245 million people. At this point on Sunday morning, 230,000 to 300,000 people are without power. I slept with a battery powered lantern by my bed last night, made my coffee and put it in the fridge and have a headlamp in

...but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." John 4. 1 - 15 There is a park down the street from me with a small lake and a fountain in the middle. Most of the year the water flows from the fountain and fills the lake. (see below) But this time of year, a layer of ice and snow covers the lake, and yet the fountain still flows. The water gushes up

Now the Lord came and stood there, calling as before, ‘Samuel! Samuel!’ And Samuel said, ‘Speak, for your servant is listening. 1 Samuel 3. 19 - 20 The story of Samuel and Eli at the beginning of 1 Samuel has always interested me, particularly when I am pondering the Trinity, God three in one, Creator,Redeemer, Sustainer. What or who was it that called Samuel? Not the incarnate God - Jesus Redeemer and probably not God Creator, but I do believe it was the Holy Spirit, God