Dear Saints in Santa Fe, and other far-off places— Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, who said once that the truth will set us free. Who said, “What is truth?” This is the only question I remember from the ordination exam I and other Presbyterian students took back in 1984. This Bible content exam, one of five needed to continue our journey to becoming Presbyterian pastors, was multiple choice and I only remember this question because I got it wrong, and apparently so did my classmates. We had dinner together following the exam in the Refectory at Yale Divinity School and this was the question we all discussed. Who said it? Never heard the question before. Are you sure it’s in the Bible?

Dear Saints in Santa Fe, and other far-off places— Greetings in the name of Jesus Christ, who crossed the Sea of Galilee to a foreign and inhospitable land. This land seems closer than ever before. You may recall last week we left Jesus and his disciples on a boat after a storm and there was a great calm following Jesus’ pronouncement “Peace, be still!” How can I experience that peace after the Supreme Court’s recent pronouncements that have upended our understanding of democracy? How can I be still when our cherished system based on the rule of law has been, by all evidence, upended by partisan judgments not based on precedence nor the Constitution?