Showing results by author "Bruce Epperly" in All Categories

Let us begin the work of Christmas! This book is a celebration of the twelve days of Christmas, offering us a chance to dwell on the meaning of the season in dialog with the wisdom of one of America's greatest mystics and activists, Howard Thurman. Thurman knew that Christmas always begins in darkness—the darkness of the womb, the darkness of human violence and oppression, the darkness of hopelessness. In Christmas, Thurman reminds us, a light shines even in the darkness, and this light will never be defeated. God’s light streams into the most unexpected places—a stable, among foreign...

Who do you say Jesus is? In his answer to this age-old question, Bruce Epperly brings us a new vision of Jesus of Nazareth, the healer, mystic, and prophet who is always more than we can imagine. This Jesus embraces all times and places with his mystical union with God, his healing presence, and his transforming prophetic challenge. Rather than requiring supernatural intervention from outside our reality, the Jesus of the Gospels is present in the natural, ordinary-yet-amazing world we too inhabit. The energy of his love opens up new realms of unexpected possibilities within our daily lives...

I bind unto myself today the clarity to see what has been hidden, the courage to speak when silence is easy, the humility to confess what I do not know, and the love that holds all people as kin beneath the sky. This is a book of word-power. It brings together voices from across the Celtic spiritual spectrum—Pagan and Christian, mystic and scholar, poet and prophet—to confront the spiritual wound of racism and the myths of supremacy that still divide and damage our world. Each chapter is offered not as an abstract reflection but as a modern-day lorica: a prayer of forceful protection—...

How can we recover the radical meaning of the Christmas season? Using the thoughts and words of Madeleine L'Engle, this books offers you a guide through the hectic Christmas season. With quiet times of prayer, Scripture, and meditation, you can begin to wonder—to imagine big possibilities and ask important questions—as you wander outside your typical comfort zones. In the twelve days of Christmas, bookended by Christmas Eve and the Feast of Epiphany, you will experience anew the awe and wonder of the Incarnation. As you both wonder and wander, the questions and images in this book will ...

In the spirit of God’s call to creative transformation, Bruce Epperly invites you to join him on a holy adventure in spiritual growth, inspired by the evolving wisdom of Christianity and the world’s great spiritual traditions, innovative global spiritual practices, and emerging visions of reality. Epperly explores the many resources of Christian spirituality in dialogue with the spiritual practices of the world’s great wisdom traditions, describing the gifts other spiritual paths contribute to the pathway of Jesus; at the same time, he uses the lens of the spiritual practices Jesus ...

From Christmas Eve to Epiphany, Bruce Epperly takes us on a journey through scripture, film, and story. Christmas is the season of stories. During this holy season, we are invited into the adventures—and trials—of a teenage mother, unexpected father, lowly shepherds, and regal magi. The holiday’s light can also come to us in the tales of Christmas in film and literature. As we enter these stories, we become Scrooge and the Grinch, who must discover that life’s meaning is found in generosity. We are Henry van Dyke’s other Wise Man, who fails in his intended journey to give homage ...

Resilient and innovative, Nature moves forward with the energy of Creative Love—even as humankind attempts to divorce ourselves from Earth on which we depend. We are kin to the krill, kangaroos, fireflies, pangolin, and all the natural world. The ancients knew this. So do our young children and grandchildren. But too many of us have forgotten. Could it be that Earth itself is the Body of Christ writ large? That the mycelial networks beneath our feet are teaching us how to live in harmony again? Could the forest—silent, breathing, radiant—be a prophet? Could Gaia, the Great Mother, ...

These days, politicians, preachers, and ordinary citizens alike speak of healing the soul of America. If the United States is to survive and flourish, the nation must reclaim a common spirit and calm the voices of hate and incivility. This is a spiritual task, taking us beyond the parochialism of creed, political party, and belief systems to affirm our essential oneness as humans and Americans. "In his first inaugural address, Lincoln implored his fellow citizens to awaken and embrace the better angels of their nature. In our own troubled times, we desperately need to do likewise. Bruce ...

Perhaps the world is saved one act, one click, or one post at a time. When we do ordinary things with great love, as Therese of Lisieux counseled, we bring beauty and healing to our companions on the Internet and to the planetary mind. The omnipresent God is as near as the next key stroke, the next post or response to another’s online comment. We need a whole-person spirituality grounded in a sense of the holiness of all creation and reverence for life, despite the conflicts that characterize our world—and given the amount of time most of us spend online, we need to include these ...

Authentic spirituality embeds us in the pain of the world and inspires commitment to social justice and conflict resolution. It seeks peace and justice in the public sphere, while nurturing a sense of connection with both God and all creation. Rooted in the deep mystery of Divine love, we can face challenges with confidence that God’s vision of justice and peace will outlast the demagogues, dictators, and destroyers. This book is intended to support your integration of peacemaking, justice-seeking, and spiritual growth. You have a calling to be God’s companion in healing the world—one...

The quest for healing and wholeness is at the heart of the spiritual journey, and the concern for healing and wholeness is at the center of all the great religious traditions. Both global and personal healing is imperative in our time of global pandemic and climate change, civil unrest, racism, poverty, and food insecurity. The urgency of healing has inspired these “101 Seeds for Healing and Wholeness.” Each “seed” provides a guidepost and inspiration for this moment in time, this unrepeatable day that's rich with possibilities for healing and transformation. Each seed is intended ...

Grandparenting is truly a holy adventure. As we see and bring forth the inner divinity of our grandchildren, we have the opportunity to show them that they are not only our beloved grandchildren but God’s children as well, infinite in worth and possibility. Grandparenting also takes us beyond our relationships with our own grandchildren to care for children everywhere. What kind of world do we hope for them—and what will we do about it? This book is an invitation to consider grandparenting as a spiritual and ethical vocation. Authentic spirituality is earthly good as well as heavenly ...

Retirement is an invitation to embark on a holy adventure. Retirement does not mean passivity or sitting on life’s sidelines. Bruce Epperly knows from experience that even in retirement, we can be agents of our own destinies. We may discover deeper passions that we had not previously imagined. Roads not taken may emerge, and gifts undiscovered may be mined. Retirement can also be a pilgrimage of faith, stretching far into the future and lived out one unrepeatable day at a time as we embark on a holy adventure, with God and loved ones as our companions. Let these Soul Seeds be an ...

This book takes its inspiration from the familiar Gospel Nativity stories—but it is far more than a Christmas book. As we revisit the characters of the familiar Christmas stories, we are invited to a new understanding of the Incarnation. We realize that, like Mary, we too are called to be the wombs and midwives of Divine revelation. We may receive Divine guidance and inspiration in dreams, just as Joseph did, and like him, find the courage to go against our society's expectations. Like the shepherds, we are welcomed to see the ongoing glorious pageant of God-made-flesh. And finally, we ...

After the presents are unwrapped, the cookies eaten, the guests gone home—find the deeper, quieter meanings of the season during the 12 Days of Christmas, with three wise women as your companions. Long ago, the Wisdom of God revealed itself through the lives of three ordinary women. A young peasant girl in a patriarchal society, Mary of Nazareth’s pregnancy endangers her very life—and yet she makes a way, with God’s help, even where there seems to be no way. Elizabeth, a post-menopausal woman pitied and judged for her infertility, also becomes pregnant—and offers Mary a place of ...