Today being Christ the King Sunday, and myself never having lived under the authority of an earthly king, I thought I’d better do some research into how my peers think about kings. So I did what contemporary people do, and turned to the Oracle of Mountain View—that being Google—for insight.
I figured that I’d learn a … Read the rest
Continue reading "Peculiar Kingship" »Earlier this year, United States Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy, sounded the alarm about an American epidemic which predated COVID-19: the phenomenon of loneliness, now affecting half of all Americans. It is a serious public health problem. Lack of social connection has been found to be as dangerous as smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.
Murthy has … Read the rest
Continue reading "Real and Reconciled" »
John and I have been going to a lot of movies this summer. There are some good ones out there, but also its really fun to spend a few hours in an air conditioned theater. Sometimes in seats that recline in all kinds of fancy ways. With a bucket of salty popcorn! It feels like the summer rituals … Read the rest
Continue reading "Transfiguration and its Discontents" »
Our collect appointed for this Sunday—that’s the prayer at the beginning of the service—asks for God to give us knowledge and understanding about what things we ought to do. That’s a very good prayer for what we Christians sometimes call discernment. That is, our spiritual practices for choosing the right course of action, as followers of Jesus. Last … Read the rest
Continue reading "Wake Up and Smell the Garden" »
I might characterize the Gospel lesson we just heard as a tale of two daughters. One of them the well-loved daughter of a Jewish leader, who was so committed to her wellbeing that he was willing to publicly humble himself before an itinerant healer of somewhat dubious credentials. The other un-named woman was an evident outcast. We have … Read the rest
Continue reading "A Tale of Two Daughters" »Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” It’s a good question, no? The kind of clarity-seeking question we have come to expect of Thomas the doubter, who wanted to see it before he believed it. And from our vantage point in the Episcopal Church during this … Read the rest
Continue reading "The Way, to be Chosen" »
Together with some of you at Trinity, I spent Ash Wednesday—the first of forty days of Lenten self-denial that precede Easter—out on the streets of San Jose imposing ashes on the foreheads of people who had little need of them. The people sleeping rough in our urban parks and sidewalks know what it is to do without, … Read the rest
Continue reading "Honest to Grief" »
A friend tells a story about being at a retreat where the leader asked the participants to think of someone who represented Christ for them. When it came time to share answers, one woman spoke up and said, “I had to think hard about that one. I kept thinking, Who is it that told me the truth about … Read the rest
Continue reading "Way to Live" »
Mount Sinai, site of the revelation to Moses and source of the ten commandments. Mount Tabor, site of the Transfiguration we just heard about. And shortly, we’ll enter Lent and journey towards Golgotha, hilltop site of Jesus’ crucifixion. Mountain after mountain after mountain… our Judeo-Christian ancestors clearly love stories that take place on mountains! And of course, it’s … Read the rest
Continue reading "A Tale of Three Mountains" »
Salt and light, that’s what we are called to be according to Jesus. These are metaphors that have deep Biblical resonance. Throughout this season after Epiphany, for example, we’ve been dazzled by light images. Isaiah tells us that we are to be a light to the nations, and the very heavens opened to illuminate Jesus’ baptismal identity. From … Read the rest
Continue reading "Shine Without Shame!" »
