Easter 4B
How do any of us ever get up and walk? “Through our own power or piety?” Peter asked rhetorically of people who had just witnessed a healing at the Jerusalem temple. Of course not. The lame man walked because of God’s grace alone. That was their lesson. But have we learned it for ourselves? Likely we didn’t get … Read the rest
Continue reading "After the First Step" »
There’s a place on earth that my family and I love: it’s an Episcopal camp in Sonoma Country where my kids grew up playing, and where I spent much peaceful time in spiritual retreat. There’s also a rather large mosaic mural installed on a retaining wall there, that my family built and donated. It depicts a full-maned … Read the rest
Continue reading "The Story ChatGPT Can't Write" »
Over the past month, I have attended or officiated four funerals. The deceased were people of different genders and ages and ethnicities. Two were people who had lived long full lives and passed away peacefully. Two were people whose lives were tragically cut short. There were in some cases ashes at the funerals, in some cases bodies; … Read the rest
Continue reading "Death and Our Song" »
How do any of us ever get up and walk? “Through our own power or piety?” Peter asked rhetorically of people who had just witnessed a healing at the Jerusalem temple. The lame man walked only because of God’s grace. Likely we didn’t get onto our feet through our own power or piety either, but how would we … Read the rest
Continue reading "Beyond the First Step" »
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“Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe.” Ah… our dear friend Thomas, the icon of outspoken doubt. Since Easter fell on April Fool’s Day this year, I find myself particularly grateful … Read the rest
Continue reading "Body of Hurt and Hope" »“There’s no way out,” lamented a headline from Houston this week. Of all the horrifying and heartbreaking reportage from the flood zone, this one felt the most personal because just a week ago Saturday I was sitting in an eerily quiet airport terminal in Austin Texas, similarly wondering if there were a way out. Which of course there … Read the rest
Continue reading "It's All One Way" »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
Continue reading "Thomas the Obedient" »
Last Friday evening I picked my husband up from the airport. And because he’d been away for the week I wanted to do something fun, but also something that wasn’t dependent on his flight getting in on time.
To make a long story short, we ended up at St. Antonius Coptic Orthodox Church in Hayward, … Read the rest
Continue reading "Sacred Profanity" »
