Usually this time of the summer, I’m busy ushering at the productions put on by the Michigan Shakespeare Festival. Unfortunately, once again this year, the company has remained dark due to the difficulty of successfully offering a season amid a pandemic. And so, I’ve decided to offer you some of my thoughts on Shakespeare and […]
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If you’ve ever watched the waves coming in on the shores of Lake Michigan on a windy day, or on ocean beaches, you know what the psalmist was talking about when he proclaimed, “Let the floods clap their hands!” (Psalm 98:8) The waves truly appear to clap when they crest and approach the shore. Just […]
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A common device in crime shows and dramas is to allow your opponent to fall by their own devices. It’s a form of poetic justice. Or to use a phrase from Shakespeare, they are hoisted by their own petard. But did you know that this concept was around thousands of years ago in the shape […]
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Are you looking for pennies from heaven? If so, you need look no further than the Psalms. In it are golden nuggets, words of wisdom, expressions of human emotion, beautiful poetry, all for the taking. All you have to do is open your Bible. Why Pennies? Maureen O’Brien, in her post, Pennies from Heaven, talks […]
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There have been many tears over the past year. What happens to those tears? Do they fall unnoticed into tissues and sleeves where they are tossed or washed away? Psalm 56 tells us that God catches all of our tears. “My wanderings you have counted; my tears are stored in your flask; are they not […]
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“My strength returns to me with my cup of coffee and the reading of the Psalms,” Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker community, said. A cup of coffee and the Psalms. Good things happen over a cup of coffee or tea: in depth conversations with a friend or just shooting the breeze; early morning […]
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The book of Psalms is the prayer book of the early Hebrew community. In it you find the full range of human emotion, including anger. So, what do the Psalms teach us about anger? Anger in the Bible Human anger is seen as a natural part of human behavior in the Bible, though one that […]
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Who doesn’t love a mystery? I know I do. I enjoy pondering questions, seeking answers. The Biblical word, Selah, is one such mystery. What does it mean? And why is it in the Bible? Selah in the Old Testament Selah is found 74 times in the Bible, 71 times in the Psalms and three times […]
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Lent calls us into a time of spiritual growth. We are reminded by the Lenten readings, “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Ps. 95:8) But what does it mean to harden your heart? The Importance of the Heart in Scripture Heart was an important concept for the Hebrew people. In Scripture, […]
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The writer of Psalm 3 is on the run from his enemies who have been tormenting him and spreading lies. In response he prays that God break the teeth of his enemies, thereby leaving them powerless and unable to spread further lies – a form of Biblical poetic justice. Psalm 3 – Lament in Three […]
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