The Afterword

Tag: grace

  • The Mystery of Grace

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    by

    Peter
    in

    What’s a mystery from your own life that you’ve never solved? My father is ninety-six and still does not know why his mother left. He was seven years old. There was an argument in the kitchen. Plates and condiments went flying. His mother stormed out the door and walked up the road to stay with…

  • The Podcasts That Form Me

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    Peter
    in

    What podcasts are you listening to? I listen to podcasts the way some people tend a garden — slowly, regularly, and with gratitude for the voices that keep me company as I walk. These aren’t simply sources of information; they are companions. Each, in its own way, helps me see, lead, and listen differently. Kate…

  • Nothing to Lose, Everything to Give

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    by

    Peter
    in

    What would you do if you lost all your possessions? It’s a confronting question — one that sounds hypothetical, except it isn’t. For me, it came close to reality. I was caught in a scam. What I thought was a small, trustworthy investment turned into a complex trap. Over time, what had seemed solid dissolved…

  • The Difference Between Grace and Guilt

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    by

    Peter
    in

    The last thing I searched for was an article called “The Broken Grace of Leonard Cohen.” I was thinking about Cohen’s views about God after a funny mix-up in conversation. Someone said that “Into My Arms”—the song about an “Interventionist God”—was Leonard Cohen’s. It isn’t. It belongs to Nick Cave. And while it mentions God,…

  • Just Passing It On

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    Peter
    in

    It wasn’t really my kindness, not in the way people usually mean it. Two years ago, a student from China arrived at our college.Shy, polite, still finding his feet — and his English.One Monday morning he came to see me, agitated and afraid.The story took time to piece together:he’d been caught in an online scam,forced…

  • Strange Fire – Leviticus 10:1–3

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    by

    Peter
    in

    Some jobs are really importantbut not very dangerous—teachers with whiteboard pens.Some are dangerous,but don’t seem to matter much—sword-swallowers in shows no one remembers. But then, some are both:like those who run toward burning buildings,those who take a bulletto protect another’s life. And priests.Ancient priests.Their job:Vital.Holy.Dangerous. Set apart—washed with water,dressed in garments too sacredfor an ordinary…

  • There Is Freedom and Then There Is Freedom

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    by

    Peter
    in

    In a world that worships the self, Augustine’s Confessions reads like a heresy. Where our age insists, “Be true to yourself,” Augustine responds, “But what if I don’t know who that is?” We often link freedom with the power to choose—what we eat, where we live, how we present ourselves to the world. Desire becomes…

  • The Happiness I Didn’t Buy

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    by

    Peter
    in

    Let me start with what I am not. I am not a consumer, at least not in the way the world often defines it. I buy what I need—groceries, dog food, replacement socks. But I’ve never found myself wandering through a shopping centre just to “see what’s new.” I don’t crave the latest model of…