Welcome to Lent, the time of year when we shine the light of the Gospel into our own hearts in humble self examination. As I mentioned on Sunday, this year, our guide through Lent will be the wonderful English mystic, Julian of Norwich — in thirty-nine short, daily reflections. Over the twenty years since I … Continue reading A Posture of Faith: A Reflection for Ash Wednesday 2023
Two years ago for Ash Wednesday, I wrote about how 2020 was shaping up to be an apocalyptic year. And that was when COVID-19 was still a couple weeks away from becoming the pandemic that has overshadowed pretty much everything else since. Suffice it to say that the news has not gotten any better over … Continue reading From Under the Rubble (Again): A Reflection for Ash Wednesday 2022
I've been struck this Lent by the movement in our Sunday Gospel readings. Like an ocean current, they have been drawing us along Jesus' journey toward Jerusalem and the cross. We began by being sent with him into the wilderness, where we are tempted and tried. In the desert we learn to clarify what is … Continue reading The Wheat Bears Its Fruit in Dying
Lent is a time in the Church year when we think a lot about what we do. Christians often take up a new sacred practice during this season, like being more intentional with their prayer life or giving more generously to charity. Or, we might instead give something up, like shopping or certain foods. Lent … Continue reading God’s Economy
Humans seem to be an inherently religious species. No human culture has ever existed without some form of religious expression. And yet it's difficult to define what exactly the word 'religion' means; it's one of those words whose meaning seems to be best thought of as "I know it when I see it." Of the … Continue reading Jesus and the End of Religion
Matthew Root 