Prayer
Prayer is the heartbeat of the messy, faithful life. Whether you come to it with confidence or doubt, with eloquence or silence, with a rosary in your hands or nowhere near a church — these posts are an invitation to show up anyway. From ancient practices to honest lament, from the Examen to poetry to prayers stitched together from the wreckage of an ordinary day, Messy Jesus Business writers explore what it means to speak, listen, and sit with God in the midst of a complicated world.
Harden Not Your Hearts: Hearing the Call for Repentance
I know well enough that the time to address racial inequity was centuries ago. It is also now. And while it is a national sin,…
The reality of the messy Nativity
I’ve said this before: the story of the Nativity lives in everyone’s heart. The story of the messy first Christmas is your story: you know…
Music for Advent during a pandemic
Here we are. We’re in Advent … during a pandemic. Every year, holding out hope and waiting in the dark offers a profound spiritual power…
Hope in hard times is an element of our prophetic vocation
I’ve been catching myself singing and there’s a surprising theme to the songs. Considering the state of things, there’s a lot of reasons why silence…
Hope, not fear, during power transition and other uncertain times
In less than a week, votes will be counted. In less than a week, we might know the results of the election. We may know…
Hope and heartache on this side of the grave
I understand that my death could come any day. My own life experiences have etched this understanding into the channels of my heart. I carry…
System upset, then and now
During a sacred meal with his friends, the rabbi mixed-up the ritual. When he stood and put a towel around his waste and carried a…
Lent in a pandemic
I’ve been inside since Wednesday afternoon. It all started when a friend, who ministers in New York, texted me to say that someone in his…