By JIM NICHOLS Following is a short Facebook item I posted a few years ago. It just went out there into Facebook Land somewhere and may or may not have garnered any attention or “likes”; I do not know. I had forgotten about it until someone recently resurrected it and reminded me about it. I have no recollection of the

By JIM NICHOLS Do you want one? Do you really want a consolation prize? That sounds like something awarded to a person who does not win, who does not finish in first place. This is one of many traps our competitive world has set for us. It has turned “consolation” into a nearly negative word when it is, in fact,

By JIM NICHOLS It is a startling poster/photograph. Taken during the January 6, 2021, riot, it shows a white-skinned, bearded Jesus (like I grew up with) wearing a red MAGA hat. Before we dismiss it and the woman carrying the photo as extremist nuts, let us be honest about what is seemingly common in our country today. There is a

By JIM NICHOLS In the Old Covenant writings in the Bible (I Samuel 16) is the important story of the choosing of David as the next king of Israel. As Samuel is considering the candidates, God cautions him not to pay attention to physical height and strength (outward appearance), but to remember that “. . . the Lord looks on

By JIM NICHOLS The two people do not know one another and are different in many ways. On the other hand, each of them occupies a similar position in my mind and both elicit my clear admiration. They are also good illustrations of what Richard Rohr writes of when he talks about the “first and second halves” of life. This

By JIM NICHOLS It is unclear what might qualify as a “cute” robot, but R2D2 from Star Wars fame would come close for most people. This genderless (although the other characters spoke of “him”), short robot seemed reasonable, brave, and even compassionate. It seemed to be, well, almost human. I suspect that I am not alone in feeling nearly overwhelmed

By JIM NICHOLS Is the word “Christian” a noun or an adjective? For better or worse, we owe television and movies for introducing words or phrases that have become part of our popular vocabulary. Nearly thirty years ago an episode of Seinfeld focused on a soup stand dealer who demanded a strict manner of behavior to receive some of his

By JIM NICHOLS The photographer was enthusiastic. “OK,” he said. “This is a lot of people so I will need you to cooperate with me. You all look so good today that I believe this will be a great memory picture for you. Who knows? Perhaps decades from now someone will see this shot and it will trigger wonderful memories

By JIM NICHOLS He loved automobiles. My father said that if you gave Roy enough parts, he could build a whole car by himself. Of course, that was decades ago when cars were more mechanical than electrical as they are today, but it made sense to me. When I bought my first used car (1955 Ford), Roy, my grandfather, helped