Confluence Formation

I’m sharing with you—in good faith that it might weasel it’s way toward relevance—the note that I just sent to a group of fathers and sons who my father will be guiding next week in the wilderness. I, alas, will not be with them. Not in the flesh. But I’ll be tracing their path each day, recalling my own encounters with the elements that they will meet. Today at sunrise as I motored to the mainlan...

Emma and I were sitting with Juniper at the edge of California last week, just a stride or two from the Pacific Ocean, taking in the majesty of the ocean. Witnessing the constant strength of the waves and the tides. Beholding the vast reach of the horizon. In that moment, that place was imbued with divinity. Full of the divine. In that moment, I looked at Emma, and smiled. Emma smiled back. And we...

The portion of the Genesis story that led me to this reflection gives us Jacob’s deathbed blessing of his sons. Some of those blessings are harsh blessings, and others sparkle with possibility. There are a few ways that you can read such blessings: * Perhaps they are a flawed father’s assessment of his many children, couching personal grievances and favoritisms in the language of blessing. * Or yo...

Life is not sweetened by bitterness. Don’t you think? It’s tough to be simultaneously grudgeful and joyful, holding on to spite and resentment, while also living life with levity, joy, and ease. Still, letting go—when you’ve been wronged—is not the easiest thing to do. Last week I wrote about the story of Joseph toward the end of the book of Genesis, and how his older brothers sold him to a host o...

Trigger warning: In this reflection there is brief mention of a sexual assault that occurs in one of the biblical narratives that I reference. Just a few weeks left in this journey of reflections on the legends and myths in the book of Genesis. In case you need to get reoriented, here’s where we’ve been so far: We talked about the delight of the creative force that pulses beneath // within // thro...

There’s a bible verse, in the book of Psalms, chapter 46 verse 10, where the poet imagines God speaking to those who God loves. In the bible that you might find in the top drawer of a hotel room somewhere in rural America, it reads: “Be still and know that I am God.” That admonition—”be still”—is translated from the Hebrew raphah , and means to let go, relax, release control, or (my favorite) ceas...

“And the twins clashed together within her, and she said, ‘If this is to be, then why am I here?’ And she took her question straight to God.” –Genesis 25:22 Today I want to tell you about Rebekah. And I want to show you two things that Rebekah shows us. One thing comes from a careful study of the character of Rebekah: A profile of one woman who finds her ways of being powerful in a culture designe...

This reflection is from a sermon I preached at Edgecomb Community Church, based on the stories about Hagar in Genesis chapters 16 & 21. First of all, read A Litany for Survival , by Audre Lorde. Read it aloud. Go do that real slow, then come on back. Now, here are my thoughts… The world is not fair. We live in a world full of exploitation. And we have for a long time. Scan our history and you come...

Melchizedek is kind of the Tom Bombadil of the Bible. He’s a mysterious figure. He enters the scene rather abruptly, with no real introduction, and then leaves just as suddenly, with no real explanation. There’s one other possible reference to Melchizedek in the Hebrew bible, in Psalm 110. Some translations have it as a proper name— Melchizedek . Others put it as “ righteous king ”—which is what h...

I mowed the lawn on Friday. I was trying to think of the number of lawns I’ve mowed in my day. The number of backyards and front yards that I’ve combed with my feet. The number of maple trees and oak trees and sycamore trees and cedar trees that I’ve high-fived on my way by, back and forth, back and forth. Mowing the lawn, especially with a push mower, is an intimate process. It’s a good way to ge...

Today we are going to look at two stories. The first one is about a tower. It’s in the book of Genesis, the eleventh chapter. Read it here, if you’re not familiar. The world at the end of this first story is more recognizable to us than the world at the beginning, isn’t it? A world where people have a hard time understanding each other. Makes you wonder: Has it always been like this? Why is it lik...

As you’ve noticed, no doubt, I’m working through some of the ancient stories in the Hebrew book of Genesis. Gleaning them for wisdom that we might apply to this project of being human, and making things better in the world. That’s what I’ve been doing the past few weeks. I preach about one of the stories on Sunday, then brush them up a little bit to share with you here on Substack. I’ve been tackl...

You can watch me preach a version of this here . [First a couple of credits: Annette Garber’s Wandering with the Wild Feminine inspires me. And her Daughters of Eve article inspired in general some good chunks of what I wrote here. Thanks specifically to Annette for the Rachel Held Evans quote. Also bringing significant inspo is the permission-giving work perspective that comes through in the styl...

“The God of Genesis is unique in having, not a use, but instead a mysterious benign intention for humans.” —Marilynne Robinson This week I gave a sermon about the stories of creation that are at the very beginning of the book of Genesis in the bible. Before giving the talk I reflected: What do I want to say about creation? What do I see in these stories? What do I hear? This is what surfaced: That...

At my Christian college, during the chapel service one afternoon—I would have been probably 19 or 20 years old—the chapel speaker offered an invitation to all those in attendance to: “Stand up if you have a call on your heart to serve in ministry.” I did have that sense of call, so I stood up. It felt natural for me to stand. But once I got to my feet and looked around I remember feeling surprised...

I’m feeling kinda partial to babies this year.. anyone with me?? I had a baby this year. My daughter was born, this year! Now, technically (literally, spiritually) speaking, it was my wife who had the baby. What I had was the honor of being there to witness—up close and hands on—the primal miracle of birth. Emma is preaching this very evening at the church where she’s been serving for the past few...

Spiritual growth is not linear. It’s better understood—and certainly experienced—in spirals. It turns back on itself continuously, yet progresses. The new places we land as we grow are always fresh, but usually, somehow, also familiar. From time to time I thumb through old journals. They’re on the top shelf in my office presently, a space reserved for the finest spirits and indulgences. The other...

Thanks to those of you who joined me day-to-day, or from time-to-time, during my 25 days of listening to the loving voice of wisdom. When I set out with that commitment—not only to do the listening, but also to share what I heard here—I did it in part in hopes that a number of the folks who follow my Substack would unsubscribe. Let me explain. I am very interested in having hosts of you out there...

Everyday I ask the loving voice of wisdom , which dwells in our hearts and in this world: “What would you have me know today?” And then I listen. This is what I heard one day, not long ago… From elsewhere: “Well I’m damned, this is the end.” “We could probably make it farther if we wanted to.” (Terry & Renny Russell, On the Loose ) From my heart: I would go, and have gone, to the end for you. And...

Everyday I ask the loving voice of wisdom , which dwells in our hearts and in this world: “What would you have me know today?” And then I listen. This is what I heard one day, not long ago… From elsewhere: “By keeping in touch with wildness we preserve our sanity, and our world’s health.” (Scott Russell Sanders, Staying Put ) From my heart: Which is a thing you do so well, dear one, and often—touc...

Everyday I ask the loving voice of wisdom , which dwells in our hearts and in this world: “What would you have me know today?” And then I listen. This is what I heard one day, not long ago… From elsewhere: “There is a creative, life-sustaining, life-enhancing place for the masculine in a nondominator culture. And those of us committed to ending patriarchy can touch the hearts of real men where the...

Everyday I ask the loving voice of wisdom , which dwells in our hearts and in this world: “What would you have me know today?” And then I listen. This is what I heard one day, not long ago… From elsewhere: “True transformation of persons happens largely, if not exclusively, through contact with images.” (Richard Rohr, summarizing Jung) From my heart: The symbols that we employ in our hearts shape...

Everyday I ask the loving voice of wisdom , which dwells in our hearts and in this world: “What would you have me know today?” And then I listen. This is what I heard one day, not long ago… From elsewhere: “Hope is one thing, gratitude another and sufficient unto itself.” (Mary Oliver) From my heart: You have learned a lot about hope, dear one. You have studied it, and written about it, garnered d...

Everyday I ask the loving voice of wisdom , which dwells in our hearts and in this world: “What would you have me know today?” And then I listen. This is what I heard one day, not long ago… From elsewhere: “We need this life of practical romance; the combination of something that is strange with something that is secure.” (G.K. Chesterton) From my heart: You do that, I see you, everyday when you i...

Everyday I ask the loving voice of wisdom , which dwells in our hearts and in this world: “What would you have me know today?” And then I listen. This is what I heard one day, not long ago… From elsewhere: “Tolerance and openness are virtues in the life of one with clear authority; they are sad excuses in the lives of those afraid of their own authority.” (Richard Rohr) From my heart: I know, you...