A Lenten Reflection ~ Day 5

Posted on March 1, 2020 by Daniel J. Miller

Am I able to trust that the darkness is neither final nor empty but instead holds the seed that holds the limb that holds the blossom of life? ~ DJM This Lent I am dipping into the archives and selecting writings from the last ten years of THE Read more [...]

A Lenten Reflection ~ Day 4

Posted on February 29, 2020 by Daniel J. Miller

“Why do we fast, but you do not see? Why humble ourselves, but you do not notice?” ~ Is. 58:3 This Lent I am dipping into the archives and selecting writings from the last ten years of THE ALMOND TREE. Because the reflections are drawn from different Read more [...]

A Lenten Reflection ~ Day 3

Posted on February 28, 2020 by Daniel J. Miller

“The rhythm of Lent calls us to slow down, be still, pay attention, listen deeply." ~ DJM This Lent I am dipping into the archives and selecting writings from THE ALMOND TREE from the last ten years. Because the reflections are drawn from different Read more [...]

Say It Ain’t So, Jean

Posted on February 25, 2020 by Daniel J. Miller

My father grew up in the 1920's. He was a good athlete and an avid sports fan. He was also a good storyteller. So by the time I was six or seven I had heard about the 1919 "Black Sox Scandal" when eight ballplayers on the Chicago White Sox were found Read more [...]

The Christ-Life as a For-Prophet Endeavor

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Daniel J. Miller

In his 1978 landmark book The Prophetic Imagination, renowned biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann, whose specialty is the Hebrew scriptures, writes as succinctly and poignantly about who Jesus was and what he was up to as any Jesus scholar out there. Read more [...]

Consecrating the Common Deed

Posted on January 18, 2020 by Daniel J. Miller

One of the great realizations I gleaned from my years studying the life and works of Rabbi Abraham Heschel is the power, imperative, and sanctity of the common deed, the seemingly simple gesture, word, or act so typically overlooked and often left Read more [...]

Enlarge Our Hearts

Posted on January 11, 2020 by Daniel J. Miller

A Life-Line to Take Hold of: We face the situation that there is nothing we can do for people except to love them. . . . We continue in our fourteenth year of feeding our brother and clothing him and sheltering him and the more we do it the Read more [...]

Brother Weeps Gives a Word

Posted on January 8, 2020 by Daniel J. Miller

“Brother Weeps, give us a word your teacher gave you,” asked the novice. “Oh. I don’t know,” said Brother Weeps.“But you must remember some teaching of his,” said the young inquirer.“I don’t know,” said Brother Weeps.“Well, Read more [...]

Merry Christmas

Posted on December 25, 2019 by Daniel J. Miller

Friends of the Sacred Braid and readers of THE ALMOND TREE, thank you for being a blessing to me through your continued support, comments, companionship, encouragement, and generosity. May the star of wonder catch your eye, hold your attention, Read more [...]

Christmas Poem for 2019

Posted on December 24, 2019 by Daniel J. Miller

The very word Christ has that thin, crisp sound so suggestive of frost and snow and the small sheets of ice that crack and splinter under our feet, even as the Host is broken in the priest’s fingers. ~ R. S. Thomas Song I Read more [...]

The Sacred Braid

Helping Persons and Communities Weave Lives of Spiritual Depth.

Category Archives: Uncategorized