I’m working on making my working life happy and productive without having to punch a clock or meet institutional deadlines. So my advisors at the moment are the Desert Fathers and Mothers, Christians who moved out to the fourth century Egyptian desert for an isolated life of prayer. Sometimes they hit it straight out of the park, not just […]
Lent 4: On Sex, and Being a Seaworthy Ship
Like food, sexual activity is necessary for survival. But while food is needed for each individual, in the case of sex the need is for the species. Nobody, as they say, ever actually died of chastity. The understanding of many Christian centuries that chastity is actually better for you may seem at least foreign. In our society we equate sexuality with […]
Lent 3: Food as Food
Evagrius Ponticus (d. 399), the great Desert Father with whom I’m spending this Lent has a has a way of pointing out obvious things that I’ve spent a very long time not noticing: biblically speaking, food has a long history of getting us into problems. Desire for food gave birth to disobedience and a sweet taste […]
Lent 2: Lenten Fasting and My Potato Chip Problem
Once upon a time, a marketing genius thought up a great slogan for Lay’s potato chips: Betcha can’t eat just one.” My waistline has testified to the truth of this for decades. They are right. I can’t. My conversation partner for Lent, the great Desert Father Evagrius Ponticus, had the same insight back in the […]
Lent: Taking Stock with Evagrius Ponticus
Lent is a season for self-examination. It is not mainly about feeling guilty. It is more like a chance to check the GPS (that might be “God Positioning System” if you like acronyms) and figure out exactly where you have come and where you still have to go. We often describe this life as a spiritual journey, […]