“For Jews demand signs and Greeks desire wisdom,” wrote Paul. So… which one are you? Jew or Greek? One who expects God to reveal himself with deeds of power, or one who recognizes God because she answers our deepest existential questions? Speaking for myself, the answer is yes. Yes to signs and yes to wisdom. Frankly, I’d really … Read the rest
Continue reading "Power in Foolishness" »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" »
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments… those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.” This week’s Gospel begins and ends with love, which is only fitting on a Sunday when we remember the self-giving love of mothers.
My friend Leslie Nipps has written … Read the rest
Continue reading "The Mother of All Wisdom" »
“Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” I’ve always wanted to say that in a sermon; it makes me feel like St. Paul. And regardless of how you feel about the content of Paul’s canon of biblical letters—the ones he wrote and the ones attributed to him—none of us can dispute … Read the rest
Continue reading "Grace and Peace" »
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" »
Happy Mother’s Day, to all of us who have mothers. Good mothers, stressed mothers, imperfect mothers, addicted mothers, angry mothers, surrogate mothers, loving mothers. All of them—and all of us—doing the best we are able to, with the help of God’s own motherly care.
Most of you know that my own son Aaron has been serving as Trinity’s … Read the rest
Continue reading "A Joy Complete" »
There’s a popular adage, “do what you love, and you’ll never work a day in your life.” I did a bit of online research and discovered that this was almost certainly not said by Confucius, despite many such attributions. It was also likely not said first by Harvey Mackey or Marc Anthony. In fact, nobody seems to know … Read the rest
Continue reading "Called to Love" »Several decades ago, at a time when I was thinking very deeply about God and money, I went to my then Presbyterian pastor and asked her what to do. “What’s the right amount to give to the church?” I wanted to know. Should it be a tithe, a tenth of my income? That seemed like … Read the rest
Continue reading "The Look of Love" »For almost 20 years, my husband John and I lived in a CoHousing community in the San Francisco Bay Area. There are several CoHousing communities in the Portland metro area, so perhaps you have heard of them or even lived in one yourself. But in case the CoHousing concept is new to you, let me … Read the rest
Continue reading "Love Thy Neighborhood" »Listen to Audio
Before I begin, I need to preface my remarks by saying that I don’t like raisins. In fact, I think of oatmeal raisin cookies as a kind of mean-spirited bait and switch. They look like chocolate chip cookies but then turn out to be something that more like a healthy breakfast than a decadent dessert. … Read the rest
Continue reading "Staying with the Source" »
