Writing, Parenting, and Working in the Mess: Authentic Spirituality and Social Justice

Isaiah 5:1-7 Psalms 80: 1-2, 8-19 Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Luke 12: 49-56 I planted okra for the first time this year. I had no idea it could grow in Minnesota. When I was in Greece in 2005, my aunt Bethlehem taught me how to cut off the stems diagonally and stew the blossoms in vinegar, oil, onions, and tomatoes, all of which came right out of the garden. It was the best stew I had ever tasted. Last night, I harvested onioins and okra and tomatoes from the garden and lovingly, attentively, made this stew, praying for my mother, who would have been 73 yesterday, my Thea Bethlemem, who would have been about 80, and thinking how lucky I was to have this concrete way to connect to those I have lost, through gardening and cooking. The whole house filled with the familiar smell and took me right back to my aunt Bethlehem's kitchen. But in the end, the okra were much too tough to be edible. I managed to eat the stew anyway--I cut open the tough blossoms and poured the seeds into the stew, and ...

I just finished teaching English in the Gateway program, a program designed to provide incoming students of color with an opportunity to get to know the UMM campus before everyone else arrives. (I didn't manage to post last night because I was busy grading--and then busy enjoying the Stevens County fair). The program includes academic components, workshops on college life, and fun activities. Teaching in this program is one of the most rewarding parts of my job. This year, I wrote the students a letter on the last day. I've included it below because I think it is relevant for anyone who teaches or takes classes; it also references some of my favorite short stories and essays. Dear Gateway students, In lieu of sharing a poem today, I decided to write you a letter explaining why I chose the readings I chose for this class. I hoped that they would lead you to begin your time in college with some questions in your mind, questions that do not have an easy answer but that I ho...

Hosea 11:1-11 There is something so beautiful about the reading from Hosea that I can't figure out a way to paraphrase it. I need to put it down here, or most of it, at least: "When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. But the more I called Israel, the further they went from me..." "It was I who taught Ephraim to walk, taking them by the arms, but they did not realize it was I who healed them. I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love; I lifted the yoke from their neck and bent down to feed them...My people are determined to turn from me..." "How can I give you up, Ephraim? How can I hand you over, Israel?...My heart is changed within me; all my compassion is aroused. I will not carry out my fierce anger, nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim. For I am God, not human--the Holy One among you. I will not come in wrath...I will settle them into their homes, says the Lord." Listen to God's longing for the ...