Guarding Sacred Spaces
What are the sacred spaces of our time? At one time it was only God’s Tabernacle or His Temple in Jerusalem that were considered holy. God used to rage against the Israelite people for going to other sacred spaces. Back then, people saw every high place or wooded grove as a potential sacred space to…
Continue readingListening to the Universe
Today I simply offer another quote from Annie Dillard: Who shushed the stars? There are a thousand million galaxies easily seen in the Palomar reflector; collisions between and among them do, of course, occur. But these collisions are very long and silent slides. Billions of stars sift among each other untouched, too distant even to…
Continue readingBig Bang
The “Big Bang” hypothesis of cosmology has become part of our collective psyche and is the most popular explanation for how the universe came to be. If you asked a cross-section of people who it was that first came up with this theory you might get a variety of answers but few would be able…
Continue readingHearing
I was rereading The Language of God by Francis Collins for a paper on which I am presently working. I came upon a place where he quotes one of my favourite authors, Annie Dillard. She reminds us that we have banished God from the world in which we live. We have found ways to show…
Continue readingChurch
I could not attend my usual community of faith and so I walked down the street to one of the closest places of worship. I was an outsider and looked in as the community worshipped together. This came at a good time, I was ready for a change, a good selection of worship songs, and…
Continue readingImaginative Meditations
Meditations upon Matthew 26:7-16, Mark 14:3-11, John 12:1-8, and Luke7:36-50. In these descriptions of four very similar events, we see that John emphasizes the fact that Mary was at the feet of Jesus. On the other hand, Matthew and Mark emphasize the anointing of Jesus’ head as with the anointing of a king. Most scholars…
Continue readingCicadas
Talking with a couple of friends last night I was reminded of a section of Annie Dillard’s amazing book, Pilgrim at Tinker Creek. The book was written while she lived beside Tinker Creek in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia and in it she records her thoughts on the flora and fauna she observes. She…
Continue readingA Rose By Any Other Name
Shakespeare’s often quoted line suggests “that which we call a rose; by any other name would smell as sweet.” The bigger question is how does it smell as sweet? Olfaction, the sense of smell, is still not well understood. There are multiple theories regarding how we actually are able to detect smells. One leading theory…
Continue readingWe Need a Little Mystery
Sometimes I am frustrated by all of the things I don’t understand. Why is there evil, pain and suffering in the world? How does God answer prayer and which ones will He answer with a “yes?” Why does God not make Himself more plain? These are some of my greatest mysteries. Dreamers and poets have…
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Hummingbirds and Giraffes
Last weekend we enjoyed the hospitality of some friends at their cabin. They have many hummingbirds coming to drink from their feeder. Sadly, while we were there, one of these beautiful birds flew into the window and lay stunned on the deck. We were able to get a good look at this amazing creature. They…
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