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Ebola and me?
Ebola. The very word conjures up all manner of anxiety within and without. The word hit our awareness when two committed missionaries contracted the dread disease while serving those suffering in Liberia. I don’t know about you, but I followed breathlessly Kent Brantley’s arrival in Atlanta and prayed for Nancy Writebol. Their stories touched the hearts of people around the world. Thankfully both survived the dread disease and Kent now gives blood to support others also infected. The story continues now and the awareness of danger draws close to home when a Liberian man comes to Dallas and the danger grows closer, New York next, and so the crisis develops. …
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A Christian Response to Ebola
I want to tell you a story—about St. Catherine. But let me preface my remarks by saying that the Bible calls every believer a “holy one,” or a “saint.” And because all are “set apart” and not just a select few, the Reformers—with their emphasis on the priesthood of all believers—sought to minimize the clergy/laity divide. So ever since the Protestant Reformation, which swept across Europe in the sixteenth century, those of us who inherited their legacy have tended to downplay canonized saints and their days. Sure, we know about St. Patrick and St. Nicholas and St. Valentine’s Days, and perhaps the Feast of Stephen (thanks to Good King W.),…
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Focus on What’s Fixed
My husband and I recently took an Alaskan cruise. As we settled ourselves for sailaway in front of large windows on one of the highest decks, I heard a little girl ask, “Did we start moving yet? How will we know when we’re moving?” I don’t know what her mother said, but I do know the answer: you fix your gaze on what isn’t moving. I was looking at the building in this picture I took; when the ship starting pushing away from the pier, I knew we were moving because of our view through the window in relation to the stationary building. And I thought, “Little one, the answer…
