New Consecration Sunday Proper 28A/Matthew 25:14-30
Maybe you’ve heard it said that your talent is God’s gift to you, and what your do with it is your gift to God. And then again, maybe you’ve heard this one—
“For it is as if a man, going on a journey, summoned his slaves and entrusted his property to them… to … Read the rest
Continue reading "To Each According to Their Ability" »All Saints Sunday Revelation 7: 9-17
“Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?” I have been quite captivated by this question from our first lesson. For one, thing I myself am robed in white, so 
you would be totally within your rights to ask who I am and where I came from. Over the course … Read the rest
De Colores!
What a privilege to be invited to share in this Cursillo weekend with you. For me its been a sacred time that began with my prayers for you all week. And I’ve also been thinking a lot about Moses on Mount Nebo looking out over the promised land, and also about Jesus summarizing the law and the prophets … Read the rest
Continue reading "The View from the Cursillo Mountain Top" »
This past week, almost 130 priests and deacons from the Diocese of California gathered at the Bishop’s Ranch to listen to, learn from and pray with our central sacred texts—the four canonical gospels—in ancient and fresh ways. Alexander John Shaia, a psychologist and scripture scholar who led this year’s clergy retreat, offered us a way … Read the rest
One of the most persistent puzzles of cognitive science is what’s called the “cocktail party effect,” which for us could just as well be called the coffee hour effect. It’s the ability we human beings have to single out and listen to a particular voice in a room buzzing with many voices, and its … Read the rest
Allow me the liberty of beginning with a disclaimer. I’ve been a priest for all of six weeks now, and every Sunday it still feels brand new. Which means you may have to bear with my learning, but you also get the benefit of my complete and shameless joy in the new job. And, lest you’ve never … Read the rest
Just how much mustard do we need, really?
I know its an odd question, but since we just heard the famous parable of the mustard seed I want to reflect a bit on my relationship to its condiment cousin. I don’t know about you, but I have lots of mustard in my refrigerator. There are all these odd … Read the rest
The Monday after I was made a priest, just about three weeks ago, I started an intensive summer class in liturgical leadership. That’s the class that teaches us how to do the things like baptism, Eucharist and marriage. The kinds of things a priest might be expected to do. I figured that two days after my ordination might be a … Read the rest
Continue reading "Turning to Romans 7" »