Jesus says, “Those who dwell in me and I in them bear much fruit.” (John 15:5a)

I’ve been thinking about the way, when you walk
down a crowded aisle, people pull in their legs
to let you by. Or how strangers still say “bless you”
when someone sneezes, a leftover
from the Bubonic plague. “Don’t die,” we are saying.
And sometimes, when you spill lemons
from your grocery bag, someone else will help you
pick them up. Mostly, we don’t want to harm each other.
We want to be handed our cup of coffee hot,
and to say thank you to the person handing it. To smile
at them and for them to smile back. For the waitress
to call us honey when she sets down the bowl of clam chowder,
and for the driver in the red pick-up truck to let us pass.
We have so little of each other, now. So far
from tribe and fire. Only these brief moments of exchange.
fleeting temples we make together when we say, “Here,
have my seat,” “Go ahead — you first,” “I like your hat.” Ω Continue reading “34 | small kindnesses #Lent2022” →

Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. (Matthew 2:11b)

I was 19 years old and studying theology at Whitley College. A few years earlier I’d experienced a shift into a way of thinking and feeling rooted in scripture and in the experience of God as understood in Christian faith. Through that experience I discovered deeper meaning and joy in life. I felt driven to learn more, so when I finished year 12 I went straight for theology as my undergraduate degree. Continue reading “32 | a small shopping bag #Lent2022” →