Julia McCray-Goldsmith, Author at LiftUpYourHearts

Waters Covering Waters

Just after Christmas, my family and I decamped to a rented house near Yosemite. We packed for cold weather and had grand dreams of stomping around in snow with a granddaughter in a puffy snow suit and cute mittens, but instead we got rain. And lots of it… y’all know what I mean! An atmospheric … Read the rest

Behold!

Christmas 2022

Merry Christmas! If you are with us on Sunday morning, know that our holy day actually began on Saturday evening—following the customs of our Jewish forebears—including Jesus himself.

One of the many things I love about our Episcopal Church is the richness of our liturgy—that is, our rituals of worship—which we share with Jews and Christians of many … Read the rest

The Baptist and the Burning Man

Advent 2A

Where do we find hope these days? In things torn down, or in things raised up? According to Matthew, yes, and yes. The lessons of Advent seem so divisive, and the stakes seem so high, that I sometimes find it nearly impossible to see past the messages of judgment to the tender compassion of our God. And yet, … Read the rest

Boys in Trees

Proper 26C

My family loves an Episcopal camp in Sonoma County: The Bishop’s Ranch is where my kids spent their growing-up summers, and where my family’s parish took annual weekend retreats. It’s a beautiful piece of land that lent itself to worship and warm fellowship, but I have to confess—as a mother of multiple sons—the best … Read the rest

Thankfully Healed

Proper 23C

Ten lepers healed. Shout about that miracle from the rooftops! In an age of readily accessible medicine, it’s easy for us to forget the high cost of sickness in Jesus’ time. So let me bring it home to you: leprosy, which might have described any number of painful and debilitating skin diseases, would also have been cause for … Read the rest

Of Seeds, Seas, and Trees

Proper 22C

I’m all in favor of increasing faith, but what does the mustard seed have against the poor mulberry tree, casting it out to sea to prove a point? And what a curious metaphor for our Lord to choose. Although nothing in Luke’s retelling of this parable suggests that the out-of-place tree drowned, the imagery is confusing. In general, … Read the rest

This Is Not A Parable

Proper 20C

There once was a rich man who owned an invaluable gemstone weighing well over 100 carats, one of the largest cut diamonds in the world. And the local factions in his country fought over it for at least a century, until it passed into the hands of a colonial queen in a far-away land. All of the rich … Read the rest

The Healing Medicine of Hope

Proper 16C

I’ve been praying for a lot of hurting people lately. You know who some of them are because their names are on the Trinity prayer list. In recent weeks we’ve prayed for people with COVID, with cancer, and for people recovering from surgery. Some of you here today have been among those we’re praying for. I also know … Read the rest

A Prophet for Divided Times

Proper 15C

I grew up with the lyric “you don’t need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows” etched in my memory. That reference surely dates me, although I confess that I was a pretty small child when my parents were playing Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” on our home stereo. My parents were themselves young antiwar activists … Read the rest

Surrounded by Treasure

Proper 14C

“If only I had known”. How many times have I said something like that to myself? If only I’d known that it was going to rain, I would have fixed that leak. If only I’d known that my car was going to be broken into, I wouldn’t have left my purse under the seat. If only I’d known … Read the rest