We all want answers, and it would be great if things were spelled out for us. But that isn't very often how it goes.

How closely scripture connects to liturgy today! Look out at the people gathered for worship, and you literally see the living stones of which the spiritual house of the church is built. You see God's people, a holy priesthood and holy nation, in the midst of which the mighty acts of God are proclaimed and spiritual sacrifices are made.

MOVING INTO A new situation can seem like heaven—at first. Whether it’s the first day of school, a new job, new digs, or a new haircut, each facet of change feels fresh and clear of all the old obstacles.

Do a Google search of May 22, 2011 and you'll find some interesting things scheduled for today: Elvis Costello in concert at Madison Square Garden, Bill Clinton to give a speech in Montenegro, the day the world will end, Usher playing in Omaha.

At the time I probably thought of him as a party pooper, but now I'm grateful to Don. I was in high school, and a bunch of my friends and I were scheming to pull a prank on a guy in our class who was often the butt of our jokes. We were telling ourselves that it was all in good fun

We moved out of our family house, where I had spent my entire life, during the summer before I left for the college seminary. It really was the only home that I knew. It was torn down at the end of that summer so that a high-rise apartment building could be built on that site.

Is Hannah dead? A 4-year-old asked his mom about a little friend he hadn't seen in a while. The mother could see the bewilderment and worry in her son's face. Death had become a big issue for him even though he didn't quite understand what it was all about.

In the words of today's scripture, we are "chosen and precious in the sight of God." We pray for the forgiveness and strength we need to be called the people of God.

To be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The First Letter of Peter's description of God's people is reminiscent of passages in the Letters of Paul where that apostle also sees Christian life in terms of an offering of self in imitation of Christ.

Do not be ashamed to serve others for the love of Jesus Christ and to seem poor in this world. --Thomas à Kempis (1380-1471)