On Ascension Day, with the readings from Luke and Acts in danger of being embalmed by archaism, the reading from Ephesians is a gift. The Gospel of Luke ends with the Ascension. Before Jesus ascends, ...

My mother was a force. She was a dancer, an artist, an amateur writer and editor, one of those comedians who didn’t always realize how funny she could be. She was also an enormously inept cook and, ...