What do Donald Trump and ISIS have in common? We are witness to images of terrorists who publically ‘hood’ those they execute. Donald Trump advocates building walls to exclude the face of Moslems from our view. Both are acts of radical depersonalization. Both Trump and ISIS must de-face The Other excluded from group self-identity. To face The Other calls into question our self-sufficiency, our constructed self-identity. To truly...

Choose with me the charmed life. Bless and be blessed. Give and receive. Touch and be touched. Love and be loved. Give and forgive. Know and be known. See and be seen. Live into life-giving relational practices.

“If you are thirsty, come and drink.” This is the invitation of sacred scriptures that is echoed across the major faith traditions. The invitation speaks to our deepest longing for sacred presence. What is this mysterious thirst? What is this yearning that never seems filled? My sense is that it is longing for sacred presence. It is best described by the word parousia (Greek: παρουσία). Parousia literally means presence. Presence is...

“Christianity has simply lost the world.” Adopting the Western dualism of sacred vs. secular, the instituted church abandons the “mysterious treasure” that is the Good News of the Gospel. Imagine how different the church might be if not operating from the duality of sacred vs. secular. Alexander Schmemann presents a compelling case that modern Christian theology has “lost much of the true understanding of the...

Post first published at http://adultdaycarespokane.org/caregiving-as-a-spiritual-practice/. I am keeping vigil with a dying person. In the parlance of our society, I am a caregiver. I am discovering that being caregiver to an elderly loved-one, who is receiving services in a hospice program, is not a terminal activity. I come to see caregiving as an enduring spiritual practice. Care giving is a role that receives little recognition in our...