By this time next year I wish. . . . . .that the U. S. Congress will have enacted comprehensive immigration reform that would provide for the documentation of the millions of Mexican and Central American immigrants who currently work hard to keep things going in our nation without the protection and...

"The crops failed, and there was no food anywhere in the land. So Abram and his wife Sarai went to live in Egypt for a while." Genesis 12:10 + Hebrew Bible All the factors line up here, don't they? Disaster hits the economy. The crops fail. Conditions grow so severe that no food can be found. . .any...

Michael Gerson published an interesting essay in The Washington Post on Friday, May 30, 2008. Check out "The Libertarian Jesus" at: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/29/AR2008052903262.html?referrer=emailarticle. Let me know what you think. .Posted on www.UrbanDaily.org...

A conversation with a friend this past week got me to thinking. Most of the time we who claim to be followers of Jesus focus on what we should say about him to the world. Wrong focus. Wrong sequence. We should first ask this question, "If Jesus were here today, what would he say to those who claim t...

I took this photo about a month ago. Then yesterday, I drove by this same station and the numbers had changed just a bit. Every category was up by 40-44 cents. No doubt about it, we're headed for $4.00-$5.00 gas by the end of summer. There are some benefits to rising fuel costs. People drive less, c...

At our May edition of the Urban Engagement Book Club , we looked into Paul Jargowsky's very important book, Poverty and Place: Ghettos, Barrios, and the American City (1997). We were very fortunate to have Professor Jargowsky as a guest and he handled our "follow on" session following our book synop...

The date inscribed inside the front cover of my copy of Ron Sider's classic, volume, Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger: A Biblical Study reads "8/9/77" right there beneath my name and hometown at the time I purchased it--New Orleans, Louisiana. Thirty-one years ago! Where has the time gone? As I t...

John E. Stapleford's essay, "A Torturous Journey: The Condition of Black America," (Christian Scholar's Review, XXXVII:2, Winter 2008, pages 231-251) is very important work that deserves our serious attention. If you've been following his page, you've seen my attempts to summarize his extensive rese...

Two processions entered Jerusalem on a spring day in the year 30. It was the beginning of the week of Passover, the most sacred week of the Jewish year. . . . One was a peasant procession, the other an imperial procession. From the east, Jesus rode a donkey down the Mount of Olives, cheered by his f...

What follows are the lyrics to a rather agitating song that speaks of Christmas. As I read it again, it seems to fit well as a Lenten meditation. Possibly we are better equipped to consider it during this season of reflection and repentance than at Christmas. [Original recording from the Chieftain's...