Pray Without Ceasing

"....the desire of the wicked comes to nothing." (Psalm 112:10b) This verse from the end of Psalm 112 is reiterated in various ways throughout the Book of Psalms. We are witnessing its truth once again in the unfolding events in Egypt. The repressive 30-year rule of President Hosni Mubarak is about to be overthrown by a popular uprising which seeks freedom, justice and the right of the people to protest and express themselves. Whatever glories Mubarak envisioned as being his political legacy will be swallowed up by the revelation to the world, through these events, of the true nature of his regime. Nobel Prize laureate Mohamed EdBaradei has emerged as a powerful spokesperson for the uprising. “This is the work of a barbaric regime that is in my view doomed,” he said in today's New York Times. “They are completely desperate. We have been walking in a peaceful demonstration. This is our basic right. And I hope the pictures will be everywhere to see how barbaric, h...

  From Psalm 15, appointed for this coming Sunday: "O LORD, who may abide in your tent? Who may dwell on your holy hill? Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right, and speak the truth from their heart...." Has there been a better public example of this in recent memory than Kansas City Royals pitcher Gil Meche, who just walked away from a $12 million contract because he believed he was not holding up his end of the bargain? This fine story details his decision to simply walk away from the incredible wealth that was due him under the terms of his contract, because his contributions to the team, he contended, were not worth it. The story, one virtually unheard of in the suffocating wealth of professional sports, offers a heartening reminder of the indelible power of truth-telling. Of course, Meche is hardly destitute, having already taken in $40 million from the Royals to date. But it's a far cry from Mo Vaughn of the Mets, who made $15 million in 2004 even th...

 It is impossible to come to terms with the horror of this past Saturday's shootings in Arizona, for there is no way to comprehend such an act. But thoughtful reading of news reports since then has affirmed the truth proclaimed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 4:5: "Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, for he will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart." In this case, many of the "things" in question have been known to those who follow Arizona politics closely but are now being articulated on the national stage. These include the general political climate in Arizona, a state with a long and troubled history of opposition to the celebration of Martin Luther King's birthday; Arizona Governor Jan Brewer's harsh anti-immigration stance ; the state's scarily permissive gun laws ; and the ways in which conservative talk radio in Tucson has fanned the flames of anti-im...

  This past week's Wall Street Journal carried a fine piece by its books and culture editor John Wilson on "Why Christians Overemphasize Christmas." His thesis is not what one might expect, a rant about how Christmas trumps Easter and shouldn't, but that "Easter is implicit in Christmas, and Christmas is implicit in Easter. When we celebrate the one, we celebrate the other, looking forward to the restoration of all things." Today's Epistle reading, Hebrews 2:10-18, reminded me of this in a powerful way.Verses 14 and 15 read,  "Since, therefore, the children share flesh and blood, he himself likewise shared the same things, so that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by the fear of death. " That is really what Christmas is about, isn't it? God came to us in human form, and became like us in every way except that he was f...

Today's newspapers are carrying the story of the cancellation of Christmas in parts of Iraq, where the threat against Christians continues to escalate following the devastating church bombing on October 31. To many of us this is unthinkable: No decorations; no lights; no church services. “We cannot find a single source of joy that makes us celebrate," said Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako in Kirkuk. "The situation of the Christians is bleak.” The State Department estimates that one-half to two-thirds of Iraq's Christian population has fled the country since the start of the Iraq war. This drives home the reality of this coming Sunday's Gospel reading, Matthew 2:13-23, to be heard in all Christian churches which use the Revised Common Lectionary: Warned by an angel about King Herod's evil plan to kill the newborn Messiah, who the magi told him was king of the Jews, Joseph at once gathers Mary and Jesus and flees to Egypt. Flight is the only option; to s...

A few days ago various news sources conveyed the Federal Trade Commission's finding that there is no evidence to support Dannon's claim that its Activia yogurt helps relieve constipation nor that its DanActive yogurt helps prevent colds. The company now owes $21 million to state and federal regulators, about as much, Slate noted wryly, as Jamie Lee Curtis probably received from any one of her commercials promoting Activia. This isn't at all surprising. The vast majority of advertising claims are probably false. It is up to us to be discerning enough to figure out which claims might have merit and which probably don't. (Remember what happened with POM Wonderful , another bubble burst recently by the FTC?) What brought me up short, though, was Dannon's belligerent response to the FTC decision. “Millions of people firmly believe in, benefit from and enjoy these products," the company's statement read, "and Dannon will continue to research, educat...

I am blessed to be part of a small group which meets every month for fellowship and "to solve all the world's problems" (well, mostly those in our own back yard). During Advent and Lent, in particular, we enjoy the writings of 20th century Christian mystic Evelyn Underhill . Evelyn (we're on a first-name basis) writes with uncompromising urgency about how important it is that we pay attention to God in all aspects of life and not allow ourselves be swallowed up by worldly concerns that are turned away from God and toward selfish pursuits. A passage from last week in Advent with Evelyn Underhill almost jumped off the page. She is talking about how important it is that the spiritual life be integrated with the world around us - not "above" it, but centered in its very midst: "It is far easier, though not very easy, to develop and preserve a spiritual outlook on life, than it is to make our everyday actions harmonise with that spiritual outlook. That...