A priest friend of mine told me a story about visiting a crematorium and peering through the peephole that allowed him to see a human body in the process of becoming ash. The body was luminous, he said. The process seemed to generate more of a glow than a conflagration: my friend described it as something akin … Read the rest
Continue reading "Fire and Ash/Fuego y Cenizas" »
I have a pastor friend who tells a story about leading a Bible study focused on what he called “the hard teachings of Jesus”. His group was discussing the story of the rich young ruler in Luke 18, who came asking Jesus about how to inherit eternal life. As we pastors tend to do, he was trying to … Read the rest
Continue reading "Power & Practice" »
I can’t quite escape the irony of ascending this pulpit, when we’ve just heard about Jesus coming down from the mountain to teach. Luke’s version of the beatitudes parallel Matthew’s account of the sermon on the mount, but here his teaching is delivered on a plain. On the level ground, where you might say that the mountain and … Read the rest
Continue reading "Leveling on the Plain" »
“Here I am, send me.” I’ll confess that it’s a bit uncomfortable being the person in the pulpit hearing and also saying those particular words. I mean, here I really am! In this somewhat visible location. If God’s about to call on someone, there’s no back row for me to hide in. But—spoiler alert—there’s no back row for … Read the rest
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Between amazement at his gracious words and anger at his prophetic references… what the heck happened? I’m serious, this is one of the more confusing encounters between Jesus and his hearers. And in Luke’s account, it happens right at the beginning of his public ministry. Foreshadowing, perhaps, the confusion and rejection that were to characterize public reaction to … Read the rest
Continue reading "Choice to Love" »
Perhaps you’ve heard the popular saying that “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” This proverb is a slight corruption of a story from Lewis Carroll’s classic children’s tale, Alice in Wonderland. You may remember the conversation between a disoriented Alice and the mysterious Cheshire Cat. Alice asked: “Would you tell me, … Read the rest
Continue reading "Discerning the Way" »
I’m a California native, so I’ve known a lifetime of water scarcity. Which is not actually that different from the experience of Jesus’ followers living in the Galilean desert. And yet, there were six stone water jars, each holding twenty or thirty gallons. Glory… God’s glory is like that!
We live in a grape-growing region, where what limited … Read the rest
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In the Roman Catholic tradition—although not in the Episcopal Church—the Gospel we just heard is proclaimed on the Sunday after Christmas Day, for what is called the “Feast of the Holy Family.” And why not honor this intrepid family? We’ve just heard of Mary and Joseph’s fateful journey to Bethlehem, and of Jesus’ heralded birth, so why not … Read the rest
Continue reading "Family & the Father's House" »
It wasn’t supposed to happen today. Not on Christmas Eve, anyway. The James Webb Space Telescope that launched this morning has been in the works for decades. But its launch has been delayed so many times over the years that many believed it would never happen. Someone on Twitter even joked that we needn’t fear the Webb Telescope … Read the rest
Continue reading "Telescoping History" »
What a privilege to be here, this Sunday of the feast of Christ the King. Which also happens to be the celebration of Hipolito, Tom, Mariann and Chris the Canons. I too have served as both an honorary canon and canon residentiary in my ministry, so I remember these celebrations with joy. I know I’m not telling … Read the rest
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