How do you write a sermon when you don’t know what’s happening next? Full disclosure, I usually start working on sermons at least a week in advance, sometimes more. I like to have at least that much time to savor the appointed scripture readings; Bible study is really one of my favorite ways to spend time. … Read the rest
Continue reading "What Next, Wilderness?" »
On the border between Berkeley and Oakland, there is a public art installation that consists of eight foot tall steel letters that spell “here” and “there”. Berkeley being the here, and Oakland being the there. Perhaps it was meant as a rejoinder to Gertrude Stein’s famous statement about Oakland: “there’s no there there”. But the artist is silent … Read the rest
Continue reading "Here to There" »
Joseph appears to be a bit player in the grand drama of the incarnation. We only hear about him in church every third year, when the lectionary highlights Matthew’s birth narrative. He did not contribute biologically to Jesus’ conception in the conventional way—at least as far as we know—and he did not make lasting prophetic utterances like the … Read the rest
Continue reading "Righteous to be Wrong" »
“Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?” That question simply breaks my heart. Dear wild-eyed John the Baptist, eating bugs and baptizing by the river and generally exacting a harsh sentence upon himself in order to make straight the way of the Lord. But even if his self-discipline was severe, … Read the rest
Continue reading "Are You The One?" »
In this, the second Sunday of Advent, the church traditionally remembers the prophets. Scripture names them and records their words—in this case, Isaiah and John and Baptist—but they’re really prophets because people recognized their wisdom to challenge the status quo. You probably know this, but it’s worth repeating: Biblical prophecy is not so much about predicting the future … Read the rest
Continue reading "Dressed in Truth" »
Last Monday my father and stepmother flew into town to share Thanksgiving with us. I went to SFO planning to pick them up, but I inadvertently made them wait. Or rather, Southwest airlines made us all wait. And for an unexpectedly good reason. Their flight had departed late from Denver, so Dad called to let me know he’d … Read the rest
Continue reading "Awakened in Time" »
Last week I happened across a video satire of some of the many distortions of Christianity that are rampant in popular culture. The fictional protagonist was having a conversation with Jesus, in which she was correcting his message. She insisted that he focused far too much on healing and helping and sharing with the poor, and suggested … Read the rest
What a way to begin ministry together! Consider the stories of faith we’ve heard this morning: a deceitful patriarch Jacob getting his hip put out of joint while wrestling with God, and a strict Paul admonishing his protégé Timothy to suffer for the sake of the Gospel. And then there’s that peevish judge in Jesus’ parable, who … Read the rest
Continue reading "Persevere in Hope" »