“It is, for me, a kind of prayer. Digging in the soil, mixing with my hands old, dead, and depleted soil with new, dark and saturated, enriched with compost soil. It is so…

“I used to be more grace-filled than I am now. While I was serving as pastor, there were many times when I had to put aside my hurt and anger with parishioners who…

“Emboldened and ever grateful for the advances in modern medicine, I find myself longing for more than a joint replacement. Suffice to say, 5 November broke me, and I have been unable, on…

“I had the pleasure of attending a Kamala Harris rally in South Carolina, invited to the meet-and-greet by a member of a congregation I was serving at that time. I had admired Harris…

“When I was in the third grade, my unseasoned student teacher from Long Island insisted my use of the word ‘crick’ was incorrect and went so far as to contend that there was…

“I will never forget the moment I pulled off onto the shoulder of a Pennsylvania road and sat scribbling down words that came to me . . . out of nowhere. It wasn’t…

“I spent four months studying in Israel at the Tantur Ecumenical Institute, which is beautifully situated atop a hill on the southern edge of Jerusalem, overlooking the Judean Hills and Bethlehem. It was…

“If we read a few verses beyond our text for today, we find in Michal the voice of rage. She mocks David for his behavior. She is apoplectic because David uncovers himself, exposing much…

“Looking across the desk at the three—a symbolically weighty number when applied to biblical visitors—something didn’t feel right to the young pastor. She struggled to keep from nervously swiveling in the big chair.…

“But, Oh Best Beloved, without psalms of lament, we are cut off from our anger or our grief. We give up the opportunity to be honest with God about our emotions. Just as…