Karl Barth on occasion referred to “secular parables,” cultural artifacts produced by non-Christians (or Christians not attempting to point directly to their faith) that nevertheless bore witness to the truth of the God we know best through Jesus. I love that phrase. Which is a little odd, as I’m not normally a huge fan of the sacred-secular distinction. Often that distinction is used in a way that feels to me very limiting and, moreover, I’ve often wondered just what is not sacred to the God who comes in Jesus to redeem in love. Be that as it may, I still love that phrase. Perhaps it’s because Barth, one of the most influential...

Good Friday is a day of introspection and reflection. This is particularly evident in the evening service many congregations hold on Good Friday. Often called the Tenebrae (from the Latin for “shadows”) Service, we often omit a sermon and instead read various portions of the passion, interspersed by prayers and hymns, turning down the lights after each reading until we are in almost complete darkness at the end of the service and depart in silence, filled with a sense of the sacrifice Jesus makes on our behalf and longing for the hope of Easter morning. One of my favorite hymns sung at various times in Lent but especially at the...

Boston.com shared a number of moving photos from today’s remembrance of those who died a year ago in the bombing of the Boston Marathon. Here are a couple that made a deep impression on me. And it wasn’t only a memorial. It was also a celebration of the spirit of the folks who survived and their city as well as a sign of solidarity with those who continue to struggle to recover. I caught only bits and pieces of the day’s events on the news but was impressed by and grateful for their attention to the people involved rather than to the crime committed. By all accounts, it was a good day, but also a hard day. Tragedy often...