By Ted Furlow
With Christmas in the rear view mirror and Lent looming over the hood, my mind drifts to two recurring questions. First, “Why did Jesus come when he came?”
Modern age challenges our right to forgive and forget
By Ted Furlow
“The evil men do lives after them; the good is oft interred with their bones.”
So says Marc Anthony in Act 3 of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar. He could well have been speaking about American society, and our compulsive need to know and to remember the negative ordinary things about ordinary people – including ourselves.
An old comb on the path to hope
By Ted Furlow
There is a cement walk on the east side of the Pastoral Center marked with a “perpetual puddle.” The puddle, a testimony to poor concrete finishing, is always a challenge to step around in the mornings after a lawn watering. I move with something less than gazelle like grace, so I keep a close eye on it to avoid splashing or slipping.
God is always waiting for us at the well
By Ted Furlow
On Saturday mornings I like to read a column in the LA Times. Years ago the author had written about a woman whom she had befriended, a woman who was abused by an ex-con boyfriend, addicted to drugs, and had lost her children to the system. It was an “up by your boot straps” kind of a story, and the writer had been alerted to it by a female public defender representing the woman in family court.
Values define our legacy
By Ted Furlow
Among my favorite places is the Golden Gate Bridge. You can park your car at the toll plaza, walk up to the bridge, and look out over the expanse of the gate. Beginning at Fort Point on the San Francisco side, you can trace the graceful arch of the bridge as it extends to Fort Mason on the Marin County side. It is at the same time, a thing of beauty and a remarkable achievement for the ambitious and imaginative nature of man. Placed in the parking area is a life sized bronze of Joseph Strauss, the Chief Engineer for the bridge, along with a plaque on the pedestal extolling his accomplishments, his experience in building bridges, and his expertise as an engineer.