“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" »
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" »
“Lord, teach us to pray,” the disciples asked of Jesus, according to Luke’s Gospel. And in response, Jesus gave them what we now know as the Lord’s Prayer, perhaps the most beloved and enduring prayer in our tradition. From foxholes to hospitals to bedtime rituals to Episcopal liturgies of every kind, we pray and we sing “thy kingdom … Read the rest
Continue reading "Leavened with Compassion" »
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" »
The only constant is change. That observation is not new, but it’s still news. With every headline, no? I am just now returning from two weeks at Virginia Theological Seminary—one of the flagship schools of our church—where I spent a lot of time reading about and listening to professors talk about leadership during times of change. You know … Read the rest
Continue reading "If It's Not All Right..." »
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" »
Am I delusional? A member of the Trinity community recently asked me this about themselves. It’s the special privilege—and I do mean privilege—of a pastor. People come to me and tell me extraordinary stories of grace and providence, and then wonder if it could really be true. If God could really allow such wonderful things to happen on … Read the rest
Continue reading "Delusion or Holy Disclosure?" »
“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" »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" »
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" »