The 60-Second Sabbath

Current Affairs

  • God Dreams

    Shhhh!Quiet.Enter on tiptoe:God sleeps. God dreams of a world of justice    where none go hungry,    where all have enough,    where none are fearful,    where all are embraced. God dreams of a world at peace. Text and… Continue reading

  • This Gulf between Us

    You imagine we are separate, don't you?You think I'm over hereand you're over there;am I right? This gulf between usis an illusion. Text and image © 2011 by Dirk deVries. All rights reserved.  Continue reading

  • Halloween, 2011

    Zombies are hot this year;The Walking Deadis a runaway hit for AMC;major cities around the countryhold zombie crawls.  Sociologists theorizeit's an expression of our national tendancytoward mindless, insatiable consumerism.To openly acknowledge thisis to threaten the glue holding America together.After all, the answer… Continue reading

  • Pick a Subject, Any Subject

    Pick a subject, any subject: There are thoseso thoroughly, thoughtlessly for itthat their e-mails, radio and TV broadcasts    Facebook posts, Tweets–rants, if you will–bloat with exaggeration, anger and alarm. There are thoseso  thoroughly, thoughtlessly against itthat their e-mails, radio and… Continue reading

  • We Can See

    We can see,but that doesn't mean we look.We can hear,but that doesn't mean we listen.We can speak,but that doesn't mean we converse.We can know,but that doesn't mean we understand.We can embrace,but that doesn't mean we accept. We can gather to… Continue reading

  • When God Lives within You

    When God lives within youthe parables and prayersof all faithsincreasingly make sense–the poems of the Sufis,the drumming circles of indigenous peoples,the beads of the Catholic rosary,the prayer Jesus taught his disciples,the rasping chant of the evening cicadas… The more deeply… Continue reading

  • Isaiah and the “Savior”

    Isaiahrefers to God as "Savior"nearly as often as does the New Testament.But as "Savior,"God liberates from oppression,leads the exiled home,heals the sick–and not in some unknown future afterlife,but here and now,in this world and this time. In our world and… Continue reading

  • The Cloak of Cultural Convention

    Christians have alwayswrapped themselvesin the cloak of cultural convention: When the culture wore the coat of slavery,the church wore the coat of slavery. When the culture wore the coat of segregation,the church wore the coat of segregation. When the culture… Continue reading

  • If You Seek

    If you seek a God of vengeance and violence,you will find your God in the Bible.If you seek a God of compassion and love,you will find your God in the Bible.In fact,the history of Christianitytells the story of the battlebetween… Continue reading

  • Unplug

    I have a challenge for you: One day a month,free yourself from the grid–    turn off your cell phone,    stay away from the computer,    don't Facebook, tweet, YouTube or text,    refuse the TV,    unplug the… Continue reading