This week, more excerpts from Eugene Peterson’s Introductions in The Message, this time from the New Testament.
Category Archives: Stories and Excerpts
Merry Easter?
This week, a reflection on Easter by Frederica Mathewes-Green:
Palm Sunday: The Seething Holy City of the Heart
Looking ahead to Palm Sunday, a poem and a meditation by the English poet Malcolm Guite.
God, God, God: Homage to Eugene Peterson
One of my favorite Christian writers, Eugene Peterson, passed away last October. I’ve been reading Eugene for years, ever since early books with such great titles as Run With the Horses or A Long Obedience in the Same Direction.
The Broken Baby: A Christmas Story
Every year, for nearly 40 years, I’ve written a Christmas story. Some of the best are collected in my book Twenty-One Candles: Stories for Christmas. Now here’s this year’s offering, entitled “The Broken Baby.” Merry Christmas, everyone!
I Asked for Wonder: Abraham Joshua Heschel
In a preface to a book of his poems, Abraham Joshua Heschel wrote, “I did not ask for success; I asked for wonder. And You gave it to me.” A Jewish rabbi, his wise and prophetic words often speak also to Christians. Here’s just a sample of his writing from a wonderful anthology entitled I Asked for Wonder :
The Mirror of the Cross: A Meditation by Walter Wangerin
In mirrors I see myself. But in mirrors made of glass and silver I never see the whole of myself. I see the me I want to see, and I ignore the rest.
Be Still and Know: Contemplative Prayer
Walt Whitman’s poem “Song of Myself” begins with the line, “I lean and loaf at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.” This is not a bad way to begin the practice of contemplative prayer.
Reflections of an Old Saint: Dostoyevsky’s Father Zossima
My favorite character in literature is Father Zossima, the saintly old monk who forms the spiritual center of gravity in Dostoyevsky’s last and greatest novel, The Brothers Karamazov. On his deathbed, in the climactic scene of the first half of the book, Zossima reflects in the following words on his childhood and on the biblical story of Job:
Jesus and Potato Chips
What’s your favorite potato chip? Mine is Miss Vicky’s lime and black pepper. Does this matter? Absolutely! Sometimes little things can make the difference between connecting with God, or not.