How Can This Be?
Read: Luke 1:26-38 Mary said to the angel, “How will this be, since I am a virgin?” (v. 34) In 1961, President Kennedy addressed Congress with an audacious plan: land the first man on the moon before the end of the decade. When Kennedy first announced the idea, it must have seemed impossible to most […]
If You Can, Help!
Read: Mark 9:14-29 But if you can do anything, have compassion on us and help us. (v. 22) In the 1947 movie Miracle on 34th Street, Kris Kringle is an elderly eccentric who works as a holiday Santa Claus. However, Kringle insists that he is the real Santa. A young girl named Suzie doubts Kringle’s […]
Let This Pass
Read: Matthew 26:31-45 Let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will. (v. 39) According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), an estimated 140 million children will be born in 2021. This staggering statistic is all the more remarkable considering that a woman’s decision to have children requires […]
Why Are You Silent?
Read: Habakkuk 1 Why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent . . . ? (v. 13) One of the legacies passed down from American slavery is the musical tradition known as spirituals. Spirituals often lamented the conflict between Christianity and slavery. If God was a just liberator, why were the lives of […]
I Told You So
Read: Jonah 3:1-5; 4:1-11 That is why I made haste to flee to Tarshish. (4:2) In 2002, my husband and I took our godson to see the VeggieTales children’s movie Jonah. Based on the title character’s story in the Old Testament, Jonah is depicted as not wanting to share God’s warning message with the people […]
Why Was I Born?
Read: Jeremiah 20:7-18 Why did I come out from the womb to see toil and sorrow . . . ? (v. 18) At the start of the 2020 pandemic, many workers in hospitals did not have the proper personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep themselves safe from exposure to the COVID-19. As their hospitals began […]
Do Not Lie
Read: 2 Kings 4:16-17, 25-37 Then she said, “Did I ask my lord for a son? Did I not say, ‘Do not deceive me?’” (v. 28) As part of our tradition on Christmas, my extended family plays the white elephant gift-giving exchange. During this highly energetic and fun game, the hardest thing to watch is […]
I’m All Alone
Read: 1 Kings 19:9-18 I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away. (vv. 10, 14) One of my favorite poems is “Footprints in the Sand.” As I read it, I love the reassuring imagery of God in the flesh walking right next to us. Conversely, I shudder at […]
Call Me Mara
Read: Ruth 1:3-9, 16-22 Do not call me Naomi; call me Mara, for the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me. (v. 20) Recently, I became aware of a concept called “Class Reunion Syndrome.” In Psychology Today, Dr. Mary C. Lamia writes, “It’s common for high school reunions to trigger anxiety about appearance and status.” […]