Salvation. Now there’s a mouthful of a Biblical word. Because we don’t use it much in other contexts these days, it tends to take on a kind of mystical weight. And it does and should have that dimension, when we use it in church. But it’s worth remembering that it—in Biblical times—it had some rather more ordinary … Read the rest
Continue reading "Saving Salvation" »
I’ve spent a fair amount of time this week looking at paintings of the Ascension. There are lots of them—by Renaissance masters like Giotto and Rembrandt and Titian—and also by early iconographers and manuscript illuminators. And then in the 20th century, there’s the evocative rendition by Salvador Dali. I hope you have seen it, or will at least … Read the rest
Continue reading "Hands in Blessing?" »
Feast of Peter and Anna Cassey
I’ve been thinking about light lately, although for rather technical reasons and not specifically related to Jesus’ teaching in the 5th chapter of Matthew. Or at least I didn’t start out thinking of it as such. I’m hoping to do a small fundraising campaign to move some priceless stained glass to Trinity Cathedral, … Read the rest
Continue reading "Shadow and Light" »
Easter 4B
How do any of us ever get up and walk? “Through our own power or piety?” Peter asked rhetorically of people who had just witnessed a healing at the Jerusalem temple. Of course not. The lame man walked because of God’s grace alone. That was their lesson. But have we learned it for ourselves? Likely we didn’t get … Read the rest
Continue reading "After the First Step" »
We are stardust, we are golden—
And we’ve got to get ourselves… back to the garden.
Anybody recognize those words? I was a child—admittedly a pretty small one—when Joni Mitchell penned the lyrics of the Woodstock anthem in 1969. My somewhat-hippie parents weren’t at Woodstock, but they were groovy enough to play this song regularly in my childhood … Read the rest
Continue reading "The Once and Future Garden" »
Whew. This gut-wrenching Palm Sunday Gospel, dramatically enacted by… reads like a catalog of provocative questions and defamatory statements about Jesus’ identity. At the outset, Pilate asks Jesus if he is king of the Jews, and then the Gospel ends with a centurion proclaiming “truly this man was God’s son.” In between, there’s all manner of mocking … Read the rest
Continue reading "Just Do (Do) It" »
“For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom,” wrote Paul. So… which one are you? Jew or Greek? One who expects God to reveal himself with deeds of power, or one who recognizes God because she answers our deepest existential questions? Speaking for myself, the answer is yes. Yes to signs and yes to wisdom. Frankly, I’d really … Read the rest
Continue reading "Power in Foolishness" »
If you happen to follow clergy social media—of which there is a lot—you could not have escaped the fact that Ash Wednesday coincides with Valentine’s Day this year. I can’t escape it personally, either, as my dear husband—who generally does Valentine’s Day very well—will be home alone this year. I’m going to have to make it up … Read the rest
Continue reading "VaLENTine's Day" »
If you stay around for the annual meeting after this worship service—and I certainly hope that you do—we’ll be shining a light on the way forward for Trinity. We’ll be electing a new vestry and previewing new ministries. And that hopeful look ahead is good and right. But in church we’re always looking backward too. We at Trinity—more … Read the rest
Continue reading "Looking Back to the Future" »
This and next Sunday are exceptional days for Trinity Cathedral. Next week is our annual parish meeting, and today people who will be at Trinity in person will not be hearing a regular sermon, but rather contemplating a Biblical text together. So I’d like to invite you to engage in something similar alongside us, all with the goal … Read the rest
Continue reading "Letting Go and Going Forth" »
