Forward Day By Day – March 26, 2019

Tuesday, March 26, 2019

We find it convenient to dismiss Jesus. He is just not from the right place. Maybe he’s a person of color. Maybe he speaks another language, or comes from another denomination or tradition, or lives on the street. Maybe he’s a she, transgender, or gender-neutral....

Forward Day By Day – March 25, 2019

Monday, March 25, 2019

The youth group was presenting an improvisational retelling of the Annunciation. Gabriel, with thick glasses and a big grin, strode into the chancel, where Mary sat. “Hi, Mary—I’m the Angel Gabriel, and I came to tell you that God loves you.”….(View this reading...

Forward Day By Day – March 24, 2019

Sunday, March 24, 2019

God will never give you more than you can handle. This platitude is enshrined on cards, posters, and social media. When I see it, I want to scream. I don’t believe that God gives us more than we can handle—evil does that. God does not prevent the testing. Instead, God...

Forward Day By Day – March 23, 2019

Saturday, March 23, 2019

The Internet has spawned a “You’re Doing It Wrong” cottage industry: “The Five Foods You Should Never Eat,” “The 10 Items in Your Cupboard You Need to Throw Away,” or “Seven Ways You Are Sabotaging Your Relationship.” And that’s before we even get to posts on what’s...

Forward Day By Day – March 22, 2019

Friday, March 22, 2019

Palestine, in the centuries when the Bible was being written, was full of shepherds, and sheep were important. They provided milk, meat, wool, and even the parchment on which the words of God could be written. But sheep are not very bright, requiring...

Forward Day By Day – March 21, 2019

Thursday, March 21, 2019

When I was a junior in high school, my grandfather died, and my grandmother came to live with us. By the time I left for college, I decided I did not like old people. Now I am one. My husband and I are in relatively….(View this reading and more resources for...

Bishop’s Lenten Book Study: The Past is the Hero

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Week Three: The Past is the Hero Autopsy of a Deceased Church by Thom S. Rainer Back in 1983 Rebecca and I were first-year newlyweds.  I was in my third year of seminary and we had gone home to visit our parents.  During our visit, my mother called me back to her...

Forward Day By Day – March 20, 2019

Wednesday, March 20, 2019

Do you want to be made well? Of course! Or is Jesus asking this man something even deeper and more crucial? The sick man has been sitting near the pool every day for thirty-eight years, with no one to help him into the water. Has he not asked? Has h….(View this...