spiritual insights on religion, social justice and comparative theology
This Sunday we celebrated women who helped to make us who we are. I’ve been around long enough to know that some women have difficult relationships with their mothers, but all people – whether realized or unrealized -- are in constant search to know what that maternal experience means to them. Some people have been … Continue reading Honoring the Maternal by William Klein
"The Three Hermits,” a short story by Leo Tolstoy, tells of a priest who is traveling on the ocean. He sees a deserted island and wants to visit it. While there he meets three hermits who of their own will came to the island to pray and find God. The priest asks them if they pray … Continue reading Solitude by William Klein
Henri Nouwen talked about the difficult task of “Finding Our Sacred Center.” He noted that this was achieved through three disciplines that can be found in scripture; solitude, community and care. He refers to a passage in scripture where Jesus goes to the mountain to pray. He comes down from the mountain and commissions twelve disciples to … Continue reading Nouwen’s “Finding Our Sacred Center” by William Klein
It has been said that “The journey is the goal.” It may sound cliché, but it is true and sometimes a good cliché is “worth its weight in gold.” Sacred scriptures document for practitioners ways to cope with the challenges of life. These wisdom teachings are blueprints or road maps for us to enjoy the … Continue reading The Journey Is The Goal by William Klein
We all want to escape something. For some it’s the job; for others it’s school; still others it’s a relationship that troubles them; others it’s a nagging problem rooted in our malaise in life and others it’s responsibility. At the heart of each heartbeat of discontent is understanding waiting to take root and change us. … Continue reading Escapism by William Klein
The act of birth itself is traumatic. We enter from a womb of comfort and security into a bold, daunting and dissonant, chaotic, hurried fluorescent lit world – bloodied and wet, sticky, being handed from one to another and relying on multiple sensibilities to hold a frantic awareness calmly, serenely with understanding and poignant culpability. … Continue reading Coping With Trauma by William Klein
Blame is a wicked curse. It creates tensions that can lead to waves of uncertainty and fear which can cause policies that are sinful in nature and structures of sin in our institutions. These waves crash on the shores of our society and make their presence known, but people tend to accept the tide for … Continue reading Girard’s “Scapegoating” by William Klein
In hindsight, the year’s been a bright, blistering haze. School is over for the year, and I can breathe again. I’m not alone. I’ve heard some interesting turns of phrases to articulate just how tired other teachers are. “I feel like I just wrestled a monster.” “I feel like I just ran a marathon -- underwater.” It shows … Continue reading Seeing Beyond by William Klein
It’s Valentine’s Day weekend. As I consider the idea of love, I consider those who have loved and lost, and have let this holiday preoccupy themselves with what they are missing. It’s easy to do this. We go back to the beautiful times we spent when we were committed to someone and reflect on those … Continue reading A Valentine: Yearning And Learning From Love by William Klein
Reading Senator Sherrod Brown’s book about progressives inspires greater thoughts about our times. “Desk 88” is a powerful and potent historical document for our times. Implicit in the writing of this book is the idea that we assess the intentions of a lawmaker not by just what he says, but by what he does. Senator … Continue reading Desk 88: A Progressive History Lesson For Our Times by William Klein
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