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Job and Our Suffering
Last week at a small Bible study group of four women, we chose the Book of Job to study for the next few weeks. When I began to read it I wondered why I was so interested in studying a book full of relentless suffering. It was difficult just to read the first few chapters. Take a look at the above engraving by William Blake. This is how Job begins — prosperous — a big family, great riches and lots of animals. Shortly after we began the book, there was an OP-ED on Saturday, September 26th in the NY Times. The title was ” How Can We Bear This Much…
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The Sun over my Shoulders
In the middle of the journey of my life, I came to find myself, in a dark wood, where the direct way was lost. It is a hard thing to speak of, how wild, harsh and impenetrable that wood was, so that thinking of it recreates the fear. It is scarcely less bitter than death: but, in order to tell of the good that I found there, I must tell of the other things I saw there. Dark Woods and fear I cannot rightly say how I entered it. I was so full of sleep, at that point where I abandoned the true way. But when I reached the foot of a…
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In the Midst of a Pandemic – Change
Jane Goodall tells us that four changes would help the world’s climate. We must eliminate poverty. Unsustainable lifestyles must change. Abolish corruption. Reverse our growing human population. And now here we are in the midst of this devastating pandemic which is actually changing our behavior. Here are a few observations: The sighting of the snow leopard and a new baby bison has been magical. 10,000 flamingos landed in Mumbai, India for the first time. Reserve gas and oil storage are full beyond capacity because airplanes are practically grounded, and cars are driving less. Countries with rampant air pollution look cleaner and healthier. China’s emissions fell by 25% and their fossil…
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One Big Time-Out
Recently I spoke to a friend about what we’re going through right now. She said that the world and now the United States is in “one big time-out.” I was surprised to think of it in this way, but the isolation we are experiencing is different from anything I have ever known. Time-out is usually a temporary break from an activity that has become somehow problematic. We have been given this opportunity to make something out of the unknown. Time-out as social distancing: In child rearing, a “time-out” is a technique for giving a child a break from a pattern of behavior that is unacceptable. But all of us are…
