A Search for Security
Dan Schrock
In the story of Ruth and Naomi, the overarching concern is for economic security, and its close cousin, food security. When their husbands die in chapter 1, Naomi and Ruth lose the income their husbands had brought into the household. With fewer economic resources, Naomi and Ruth are now more vulnerable to poverty and hunger. […]
Behind the Scenes
Dan Schrock
A while back I was listening to a man vent his frustrations about God. “I get so frustrated trying to relate to God!” this man exclaimed. “God is much harder to communicate with than anyone else I know. When I want to communicate with people, I go and visit them, phone them, email them, or […]
Love in Action
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
“In the days when the judges ruled….” Right away, this little book of Ruth begins with a whole lot of trouble. In the days when the judges ruled, there was a lot of trouble in the land of Israel. After Joshua died, another generation grew up after him, who did not know the Lord or […]
A Time for Everything
Ginny Martin
Ecclesiastes is an unusual book of the Bible. It covers everything in life with bluntness, humor, and questioning. If you are an individual of doubt, then you could read this book. Here is some background information from the NRSV Harper Collins Study Bible (c1989, 986-988). Ecclesiastes stems from the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew […]
The Wheat and Weeds
Lane Miller
Since I have been living in Illinois, I’ve been hanging out with a group of Catholic young adults in an attempt to finds friends in a new city. The local parish held an event on Wednesdays in June called Theology on tap. Young adults get together for supper and listen to a speaker present on […]
Wild Hope
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
It is perhaps fitting that our 2 scripture texts use images of nature, planting, sowing and growth, after the events of the last couple weeks. On the one hand, we experienced the damaging effects of the wind and the many hours of cleaning up after it! And on the other hand, we have a wonderful […]
The Divine Referee and the Ultimate Goal
Paul Leichty
Growing up in Indiana back in the 50’s and ‘60’s, it was almost assumed that boys learned to play basketball. So my Dad taught my brother and me how to play basketball–not only how to shoot the basketball but how to play defense as well. I was told that when defending against your opponent, you […]
What The Preacher Said
Richard A. Kauffman
“In consolation, remember desolation. In desolation, remember consolation.” A great paradox; and this too sounds as though it is from Eccl., although it’s not. Ecclesiastes is full of paradox, contradictions, ambiguities that have long left readers puzzled. The writer seeks wisdom, knowing it is better to be wise than foolish, yet the wise and the […]
Promises, Promises
Lisa Showalter
For my husband, Brian, and myself, 2014 has felt a bit like being repeatedly kicked in the shins. On January seventh, after ten years at his job, Brian was rather unceremoniously “let go.” Watching a husband who had invested, and sacrificed so much of himself for a company who so easily dismissed him was painful […]
Children of God, Members of One Body
Marilyn Rudy-Froese
I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be the church lately. Perhaps it’s because there are denomination-wide discussions on what it means to be the church together, even when we disagree; perhaps it’s related to the fact that I’m currently enrolled in an AMBS online course on Anabaptist polity–the structures we have […]
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