Tribe. Such a double-edged sword. To be in? Warmth. Security. Companionship. To be out? It is by no means coincident that we say “out in the cold” when someone is rejected by the tribe. Tribal cooperation and alliances? Productive. Peace building. Tribal warfare? Brutal. Deadly. Destructive. How do the tribes we cherish define who is in and who is out? How do our tribes define and maintain their boundaries? Advent is a good time to think about it.
Cycles. The universe is organized by and around cycles. For those of us who practice the Christian faith, today, November 30, 2025, is the beginning of two important cycles. The first and most obvious is the annual cycle of seasons that guide our worship: Advent, followed by Christmastide, and so on. But the annual cycle of the church year is part of a larger, 3-year cycle created by the “Revised Common Lectionary,” whereby we schedule readings from the Bible to make sure we cover the most important stuff every three years. Today is Advent 1 of Year A. Cycles. Things…
Such an ordinary tree, the sweetgum. Plentiful. Maybe too plentiful in Louisiana. An opportunistic species that seeds readily in an area disturbed by construction or a storm or whatever, quickly covering bare ground with glossy dark green, hand-shaped leaves. Then they spread rapidly, preventing slower species from getting started. Sweetgum seed balls are big and prickly and cover the ground in fall. Woe is the person who steps on one barefoot. Or wearing sneakers with openings in the soles. But those gumballs are full of seeds and the birds love them! So sweetgums are a bit of a “good news,…
Edge & Essence 