Samson the Special

It’s a good thing to know that you’re special. (Which you are, by the way.) That God made you different from everyone else, with special gifts and talents and a special job to do in the world. But sometimes it can make a person feel like the rules don’t apply to you.  That seems to [...]

OVER HERE! ME! LOOK AT ME!

If you are reading this, you are probably a leader, whether you think of yourself that way or not. How do I know? Because you are taking it upon yourself to read the Bible and think about it, to let God work on you and shape you. That means that you are setting a good [...]

Justifying the beans? – ORANGE

Judah lies to Tamar. Tamar lies to Judah. Judah seduces Tamar. Tamar seduces Judah. The whole thing just seems like a big mess, but the Bible seems to think that Judah’s actions are pretty awful, while Tamar’s are righteous. Believe it or not, it all reminds me of a scene in Into the Woods, when [...]

Do-nothing Reuben

There’s a saying that all that is necessary for evil to triumph is for enough good people to do nothing. That’s Reuben’s regret here.  Reuben knows it’s wrong to kill Joseph; Reuben has no intention of doing much to Joseph other than throwing him down a hole for awhile – unpleasant, not recommended, but not [...]

What would we gain? – ORANGE

“What would we gain from the Bible by having yet another story of humiliation and pain?” asks Rabbi Lia Bass.  We are not yet done with the book of Genesis, the first book of the Bible, and how many stories of humiliation and pain have we found? What would we gain by having yet another? [...]

Un-united

Ok, God, which is it? Do you want us together, one body, one church, unified? Or do you want us apart, scattered, separated? Looking back from our perspective as 21st century Christians, with multitudes of denominations and civil wars splitting countries apart and all kinds of divisions, trying to hold together as one group, one [...]

My brother’s keeper?

Am I my brother’s keeper? That’s the famous question. Some translations have “guardian”; The Message asks “Am I his babysitter?”  But it’s all the same, really – Cain doesn’t want to be responsible for his brother’s well-being. And a lot of times, we don’t either.  It’s easier just to worry about ourselves or the people [...]