“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" »
It’s not fair! How many times have we said that. Or at least thought it. I’ll give you a moment to remember the last time somebody cut in front of you in traffic or someone declared bankruptcy after racking up irresponsible debt. Do you feel just a bit of anger over the injustice of it all? And if … Read the rest
Continue reading "It's Not Fair!" »
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” Whoa. That’s a big ask. And a really big Biblical concept. Think fire and animal slaughter and blood of bulls poured out on an altar. Or how about the sacrifice of praise that we talk about from our own altar at Trinity? From Genesis to Jesus to the culture wars of … Read the rest
Continue reading "Making Holy, Together" »
“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" »
“I know a person… who was caught up into Paradise,” Paul wrote to the church in Corinth nearly two thousand years ago. “Even considering the exceptional character of the revelations, however, I refrain from boasting.”
This passage is one of my favorites in all of Paul’s voluminous correspondence to the early church, in large part because it … Read the rest
Continue reading "Unexceptional" »
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" »I occasionally follow the online musings of a once-celebrated evangelical Christian blogger named Jen Hatmaker. Maybe you’ve heard of her? She came by her fame honestly; she hosted a rather charming blog about the foibles of Christian parenting in the 21st century, and she went on to become an author and sought-after speaker on … Read the rest
Continue reading "Costly Freedom" »
If you’ve been around Trinity for a while, you may already know that my husband John and I served for seven years as missionaries in Central America and the Caribbean when we were newly married. Por eso somos hablahispanos. That’s why we’re both Spanish speakers. What you may not know is that our two sons … Read the rest
Continue reading "Light for the Journey" »In these final painful days of our electoral season, when saintliness seems remote from the public sphere, the familiar words of what’s popularly known as the Golden Rule: “do to others as you would have them do to you” seem to take on a special urgency. Mostly because they are the words of our Lord, whose teaching I … Read the rest
Continue reading "Subjunctive Saints" »
I never imagined myself saying this in church—or anywhere else, for that matter—but this morning I feel a bit like a mulberry tree. Some very faithful people said “be uprooted from your 13 years of service on the staff of the Bishop of California and be planted at Trinity Cathedral,” and here I am. Feeling a bit out … Read the rest
