Jesus Archives - Page 11 of 13

Worthy of Worship

Am I now seeking human approval, or God’s approval?” asked the Apostle Paul of the community in Galatia. “Am I trying to please people?”

Twenty-nine years ago this coming Tuesday—as in two days from now—John and I got married. It was a wedding, in all of the glorious messiness that attends such events, with various kinds of drama … Read the rest

Between Them and Us

Acts 15:7-21

“God made no distinction between them and us.” From our present standpoint it takes some effort to hear how very radical was Peter’s statement at what’s come to be known as the First Council of Jerusalem. But for Luke, who is also the author of Acts, this is the pivot point on which the story of Spirit-inspired expansion … Read the rest

Thomas the Obedient

Easter 2C

Complete this sentence. Obey your…

So in our first lesson this morning, we’ve met Peter and the apostles, boldly announcing to the Senhadrin—the central council of religious authorities in Jerusalem—that they obeyed God rather than any human authority. That’s the kind of statement that’s bound to get you into trouble with those same human authorities. And in fact … Read the rest

Take Up Your Towel

Maundy Thursday

For several days last week, I was driving around with a kind of scary black garbage bag in the back of my car. And the bag got a bit scarier every day that it stayed there, because it was full of damp used towels. Towels that came from a service of footwashing. And the feet belonged to the … Read the rest

How Much Is Too Much?

Lent 5C

How much are we willing to give?

Just a week ago today I might have said that I had given it all I had. That’s because last weekend I had the privilege of serving the almost 60 high schoolers who took part in our annual diocese wide “Happening” retreat. For those of you who don’t yet know about … Read the rest

Waiting on Gospel Wine

Epiphany 2C

Three weeks ago yesterday I was at a wedding. At The Bishop’s Ranch, which is a pretty special thing because the Ranch normally doesn’t host weddings. For those of you who may not yet be familiar with it, The Bishop’s Ranch is an Episcopal camp and retreat center in the heart of the Sonoma County wine country. … Read the rest

If You See Something, Say Something

bechdel test.jpg

Advent 4C

There is feminist principle for assessing literature and movies called the Bechdel test; maybe you’ve heard of it? It asks whether and how often the work features at least two woman—with names—talking about something other than a man.

So let me say right up front, that the Bible does not fare well on the Bechdel test. … Read the rest

Pretenders to the Throne

Christ the King

I’ve been away from St. Stephen’s a lot recently, so unless you’re directly involved in adult education—which is part of my diocesan day job and mostly what I’m called to do here—I’ve been missing you. But there’s a lot of great new adult classes starting soon, so stay tuned for opportunities to grow in faith. We’ll have … Read the rest

The Sacrificial Yes

Proper 27B

Let me tell you a story. It’s a story that’s been around for a while so probably you know it. It begins with space, a beautiful deep space that was made sacred because the Spirit of God hovered over its face. To make something sacred is to sacrifice it—that’s the Latin root of sacri-fice—and so the earth was … Read the rest

Quantum Calling

Proper 25B

“In the quantum world, relationship is the key determiner of everything. Subatomic particles come into form . . . only as they are in relationship to something else. There are no ‘basic building blocks’ . . . These unseen connections between what were previously thought to be separate entities are the fundamental ingredient of all creation.”

So writes … Read the rest