What was the excuse He gave that day when he rose from the table determined to betray? The Passover lamb had just washed his feet, wiped them dry and said, “One is not clean.” But it wasn’t only for this sinner Christ bore the shame. His stripes and lashes wore my...
Quiet and overweight, the new girl in school was an easy target. She’d shuffle down the hall in nondescript clothing, her unkempt hair hanging across her face as if it knew she longed to be hidden. A year younger than she, I don’t recall her name although I remember...
My pastor calls it the Great Exchange; the way God gave everything in order that you and I might gain from His loss. As I read the scripture about Christ and the thief on the cross, I’m struck by the truth of the Great Exchange and the scandalous love God has...
The place name dogged me all week–my thoughts returning again and again to the words of John 18:5. When he had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was a garden, and he and his disciples went into...
I read the child’s name and my throat constricts. The words seem detached from the page and I wish I could wrap my hand around each letter–crushing the message they bear. Dead. Eight year old. Mother attempted to revive. Pausing, I think of my own...