Meditation on a Sinner, Zacchaeus

Today’s Gospel was the story of Zacchaeus. It reminded me of the time I led a class of ninth graders through a reflection on it. The next day they surprised me by asking for another prayer like that one. Wow! I saved the reflection, and for what it’s worth I’m presenting it here. It may […]

Lessons from Trees

I said to the almond tree, “Sister, speak to me of God.” And the almond tree blossomed. ~ Nikos Kazantzakis My new home, an apartment on Pine Grove Trail, faces east, and the view is the lovely pine forest—a place I’ve always considered sacred. Lately I’ve been hearing a great deal about trees: how they […]

Up a Tree for Jesus’ Sake

My new book “Bible People for Young People” (“reviewed” at the end of this post) shows Zacchaeus on the cover. I thought I’d draw some lessons today from this man’s story. If you recall, Zacchaeus, who collected taxes for Rome and pocketed some for himself, was possibly the most despised man in Jericho. Perhaps as […]

Misleading First Impressions

              Last week I attended the funeral of a little ninety-three-year-old Chinese woman, “Alice.” Long ago I had been introduced to her as the mother of a friend and sized her up as a sweet, gentle lady who probably spent most of her life in the kitchen making beef […]