For several years, I have taken songwriting classes. I enjoy the chance to play with words and find phrases and word patterns that describe ordinary human emotions. It is interesting to...

This story is not uplifting. David, King David, an ancestor of Jesus, has sexual intercourse with a woman against her will. He sees her, he takes her, and he sends her...

Who are you in this story? The boy who is kind enough to share, even though it may not be enough? Are you one of the disciples, more anxious about spending...

The second part of this week’s Gospel follows an interlude in which Jesus has again instructed his disciples to set out in their boat. Jesus himself goes off alone to pray,...

Mark’s Gospel is breathtaking, both in its pace and its content. We are still reeling from the story of John the Baptist’s execution when the disciples return to Jesus with an...

When I worked as a carpenter remodeling older homes, I was sometimes part of the demolition crew. As the name suggests, this involved tearing things down, breaking through old walls which...

Our scripture today is full of architectural imagery. The writer of Ephesians celebrates how Christ has broken down a "dividing wall," and is building a new dwelling place for God and...

This week’s psalm was quite possibly written during the time of the Babylonian Exile. A few years before, the Temple in Jerusalem had been destroyed by a foreign power, and Israel’s...

While King David is obviously at the center of today’s scripture, I find I am drawn to the prophet Nathan. Nathan is introduced here as a kind of spiritual advisor to...

As we continue the saga of King David, we find the monarch mulling over his success and coming to an embarrassing realization. He is living in a fine palace; but the...