Many years ago I did a weeklong retreat at the Taize Community in southern France. Known for its captivating chants, the ecumenical monastic compound attracts thousands of people each week from all over the world. The community hosts three services a day, mostly...
In 2009 journalist Bill Bishop wrote a compelling book, The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart. He makes the case that over the past several decades people have been living, working, worshipping, recreating, and vacationing in...
Jesus had a lot to say about the poor. He spoke to them, he spoke of them — and often invited them to eat with him, breaking all sorts of social and religious conventions. And at the same time Jesus challenged nearly everyone who was not poor to do something to...
Jesus grew up in Nazareth, a very small village that was literally built into a hill. People took advantage of the limestone caves that dotted the landscape by setting up their living spaces within and extending tents out onto the hillside, where their animals were...
