Prayer is not an activity that competes with other activities; it is the basis of every activity. Work is prayer. Writing is prayer. Gardening is prayer. Since the intention of prayer or meditation practice is to come face to face with Mystery, the unity of prayer and action is essential. Prayer purifies intentions. With prayer, no other […]
We are living in a time when the line between fact and falsehood, truth and lie is becoming increasingly blurred and confusing, especially when we cease to be intellectually vigilant and morally faithful. Every day, it seems, our integrity is being challenged, our sympathies are becoming numb, our commitment to justice is waning from the […]
When I was in my early 20s, a friend gave me the book, “Illusions: The Adventures of a Reluctant Messiah” by Richard Bach. I wasn’t much “into” religion and would have rejected anything dogmatic. This was the perfect book for me at the time and had a profound affect on my understanding of, and relationship […]
“Often it is only in our extreme need that we are willing to stop struggling with life and give God an opportunity. The Bible does not treat these truths in a lukewarm fashion, but is always dramatic in presenting them. Therefore we find that Abraham’s test of faith required a most radical reliance on God. […]
I recently realized that I feel safer in cars that look like I can afford them. How I realized this was that I had to rent a car. I had a coupon that enabled me to get a compact for the same price as an economy and I jumped on it. But, when I got […]
You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress such a one, for you were sojourners in the Land of Egypt. Exodus 22:20 This verse is read in synagogues this week, as part of the annual re-reading of the Torah. It is part of a weekly portion called Mishpatim – “rules” or “laws” – and comes […]
As a Unitarian Universalist minister, so many times my congregants come in to talk to me and ask what they can do to positively impact this crazy world we find ourselves in. I usually end up giving them all the same answer. We change the world by stepping into the best of who we are. And […]
This month we have marked Hanukkah… and in the days ahead…Christmas, each built around LIGHT…candles…star… …may we, in these busy days… with each step we take…with each breath we breathe… focus on the light that lives in us and through us… and take that light into our days in the human darkness that is all around … “Go out! For need […]
Somehow I made it this far in life without knowing about Stanislav Petrov, the man who may have saved the world from nuclear annihilation. Petrov was a lieutenant colonel in the Soviet Air Defense Forces in 1983, when he received a warning from the computerized Soviet early warning system of an imminent nuclear attack from […]
This past Sunday I was sharing with my congregation the story of Elijah in 1st Kings. Many of you know the story. He’d stood up for God, he’d stood up to the king, and he was on the run. He went to Mt. Horeb, and he waited. And then in chapter 19, verses 11-13, it […]
