Sometime during the mid-eighteenth century, a Jesuit priest in France named Jean-Pierre de Caussade wrote a book that is sometimes called Abandonment to Divine Providence but is more popularly known in English as The Sacrament of the Present Moment. I’m going to begin this post with a quotation from that book, because its vision of … Continue reading Acts 27:13-28:44 The Story Ends
What, in the end, are we to make of the apostle Paul? Luke, who loves him, is not shy about telling us of Paul’s occasional foolishness and blind spots. Paul has been converted, but like any convert, the old self still shows up with dispiriting frequency. Recently I had a chance to chat with the … Continue reading Acts 25:23-26:32 Sweet friendship
As I said yesterday, Peter is able to go and visit Cornelius the Centurion because he’s willing to give up the purity that allows him to enter the temple. His understanding of God has moved beyond the controlled structure of temple worship. It’s also moved beyond any understanding of the divine that the Roman empire … Continue reading Acts 10:17-33 Capable of believing anything
And Saul approved of their killing him. This single sentence is key to what Luke is trying to convey in Acts. People are redeemable. A single evil act, even a series of evil acts, does not define an entire human life. Luke must have heard Saul, who by the time he knew him had changed … Continue reading Acts 8:1-8 And Saul approved of their killing him
I’ve talked about control many times while writing this blog, and now I think it’s time to share something I was given near the beginning of my training as a Spiritual Director in the Wellstreams Program here in Columbus. Many of the handouts we received had been photocopied many times, some of them probably from … Continue reading Acts 5:27-42 Gamaliel’s Freedom
KPB Stevens 