Beatitudes Blog

After Illness (poem)

After Illness (poem)

After Illness J. Marshall Jenkins Recovered, more or less, still a bit tired, remembering the illness, the drain, dis-ease, grayness darkening, hope dimming, restless rest, wondering now how it came, how to fend it off better next time. Meanwhile, it takes perhaps a...

The Order For Which We Long: Sermon on John 1:1-18

The Order For Which We Long: Sermon on John 1:1-18

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being. What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the...

HALT, Welcome, and Be Welcomed

HALT, Welcome, and Be Welcomed

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy (Matthew 5:7). Participants in Alcoholics Anonymous keep an eye on themselves with the acronym, HALT, which stands for, “Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired.”  That experience cues them to call the sponsor, go to a...

What Is the World? (poem)

What Is the World? (poem)

What Is the World? J. Marshall Jenkins He was in the world, and the world came into being through him; yet the world did not know him (John 1:10). What is the world? “Oh, for heaven’s sake,” my writer’s conscience protests, “Do not write about that abstraction. Turn...

Voting With Christian Hope

Voting With Christian Hope

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God (Mt 5:8-9). On Not Voting With a Divided Mind When voting, you carry some brand of hope to the ballot. Always dissatisfied in some way with the...

Remembering My Teammate, Donnell Thompson

Remembering My Teammate, Donnell Thompson

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). My wife knows me pretty well, and overall, she seems to approve. Except for one thing. She finds it perplexing that the proponent of nonviolence she married fondly remembers playing football in his...

As a psychotherapist and spiritual director, I bring well-honed insight and skill to these posts; yet, my vulnerability plays a more important part, for more than advice from experts, serious people of faith need resonance with fellow travelers.

In my writing and in your reading and comments, may we face our challenges in God’s compassionate presence rather than in a private dressing room where we try in vain to make ourselves presentable to God at an appointed meeting. God meets us where we are.

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