The Family Story: Imaginative Encounters with the Bible

The Mothers - Rachel

The fourth of four stories about the mothers of Joseph's family. Rachel is the one Jacob loves, but her rivalry with her sister Leah keeps her from appreciating him or the life she has.

The Mothers - Bilhah

Part three of four about the mothers in Joseph's family. Bilhah is handmaid to Rachel, who desperately wants sons. Rachel decides that Bilhah will have children in her place.

The Mothers - Leah

Telling the story of Joseph is also telling the story of his family. This is one of four interrelated stories about the four mothers - Jacob's wives and concubines. Leah is the oldest daughter and the mother of the most children. Here is a part of her story.

The Mothers - Zilpah

I'm slowly working my way through the life story of Joseph, and it seemed worthwhile to go back a generation. Jacob, Joseph's father, has two wives and two concubines. I take time to look at the story of Jacob's marriages and the births of his children from each of the mothers' points of view. Zilpah is first.

Peter Goes Fishing

At the very end of the Gospel of John, Jesus surprises his followers by meeting them on the beach after they've tried to go back to their old life fishing. This encounter is a reversal for Peter of his betrayal of Jesus in the hours before the teacher's death, and renews his call to ministry - to, as Jesus puts it, "Feed my sheep." On the other hand, Peter is still very much his old jump-first-think-later self in this story.