Chip Shots

Yes, I'm one of those guys in tight shorts on a bike. You know, the kind that irritates you on the road? That’s me. One day, for example, I was pedaling toward Bartlett Lake when something crashed against the back of my helmet. I nearly fell off my bike! Catching myself, I saw a chunk of ice bouncing on the road. I guess the driver thought it would be fun to see if he could hit me. If he knew how close he came to causing an accident, he'd probably think twice before doing it again. Or not. I don’t know why cyclists irritate motorists. I suppose it’s because we get in your way. Trust me, if you’ve ever had to change a tire while cycling you’d know why we tend to gravitate away from the rocky edges. Or maybe you’re just jealous of our good looks. In any case, I've been honked at, sworn at, and, now, thrown at. At least I haven't been spat at. Yet. I began cycling a few years ago at the invitation of a friend from our church. Dragging myself out of bed for our first ride, ...

Mary was frantic. “Where’s my boy? Have you seen him?” No one had. Two days later found him in, of all places, a house of worship. Can you imagine her relief and frustration? “Why have you treated us like this?” she asked. Like any other twelve year old boy, he didn’t understand why she was so worried. “Didn’t you know I would be in my father’s house?” he replied. These are the first recorded words of the world’s most famous man. “My father’s house,” Mary thought. “I wonder what he meant by that….” Years later, he still used the word “Father.” Now, however, his meaning was clear: the Father in question was God Himself. Today we’re accustomed to thinking about God as our Father. But at that time it was a revolutionary idea: never before had anyone referred to God that way. To do so would have been considered blasphemous. The crowds found his apparent familiarity with the Almighty both attractive and offensive. Some sought to stone him for it. But others were drawn to the man for whom G...