Monday, September 28, 2020 | Reflections
The “fishers of men” image is a powerful and familiar one. It can also be one that puts the power and the gain into the fisherman’s hands: the net, the boat, the meal, all things that clearly empower the fisherman over the fish. When this is translated in English as...
Sunday, September 27, 2020 | Reflections
I can do a lot of things. But the will to do them can be harder to come by. I know how to work out, eat better, get organized, respond to emails, give frequent high-quality feedback. Sustaining the will to do things that are hard is…hard. Paul reminds us that the...
Saturday, September 26, 2020 | Reflections
Some days are worse than others. Things do not go well at work. We are at odds with someone we love. Our bodies fail.It’s easy for me to get stuck in a downward spiral on these days, full of resentment and regret. The hurt becomes all-encompassing, and it is nearly...
Friday, September 25, 2020 | Reflections
Sometimes, God offers me the opportunity to see things from a different perspective. I stopped kneeling to receive the eucharist. I had done this for years, harkening back to that beautiful Catholic response: “only say the word, and I shall be healed.” And then I got...
Thursday, September 24, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: June 19, 1953Forbes Robinson became the chaplain of Christ College, Cambridge, almost directly after his ordination. He wanted very much to be close to the lives of the undergraduates, and he followed them to their games a….(View this reading...
Wednesday, September 23, 2020 | Reflections
I live in a mid-size city, and it is easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle of daily life. I rush here and there, busy thinking about work, buying groceries, and arriving at the gym before it gets too crowded. I see—but don’t always acknowledge—the trash in...
Tuesday, September 22, 2020 | Reflections
Jesus calls us to forgive seven times seventy times. I often struggle to do it once. But God forgives by putting it all in perspective, remembering that his people are only flesh.I fail to put things in perspective, to acknowledge the truth of my family and...
Monday, September 21, 2020 | Reflections
How must Matthew have felt in this moment? Was Matthew embarrassed? Insulted? Perhaps even insulted on behalf of his guests? Admitting personal weaknesses is difficult. It makes us vulnerable. It is possible we will be ridiculed and ostracized, shown to be utterly...
Sunday, September 20, 2020 | Reflections
I struggle with the idea of Christian unity, of being of “one mind” by faith. This has sometimes set Christians in opposition to their neighbors in ways that have been exclusionary and violent. We have drawn lines in the sand and divided communities. And yet, our...
Saturday, September 19, 2020 | Reflections
I try to keep myself very busy running from work to home, to the gym, to a friend’s, to church, to the store. I fill my life with activities and people I care for. This is the life I live alongside all of the other striving, hardworking people of this country. Our...
Friday, September 18, 2020 | Reflections
For a moment with the dying sun before me and the warm rock beneath me, I feel peace settling into my bones. I breathe with the waves and am carried by gulls into even deeper peace. I allow myself to be taken by it, to dwell in it, and to begin to carry that peace...
Thursday, September 17, 2020 | Reflections
From the Archives: May 29, 1953How should people feel toward their clergy and how should they treat them? Let me offer my own answer as a minister.We want your prayers. Our task is spiritual, and it puts a heavy drain on our so….(View this reading and more...
Wednesday, September 16, 2020 | Reflections
When I was a young adult minister, I had the privilege of listening to a lot of people discerning their vocations. Some were called to holy orders; far more were confirmed in the ministry of the laity. Some were called to strive for equality and environmental...
Tuesday, September 15, 2020 | Reflections
These words spoken by the Pharisees after seeing Jesus ride triumphant into Jerusalem for the Passover strike me as both folly and cause for celebration. For one, God’s movement in the world is too powerful for evil to overcome. God moves in the world, and the world...
Monday, September 14, 2020 | Reflections
Almost every supervillain storyline follows a similar trope: dispossessed individuals gain some power but subsequently isolate and overextend themselves. Meanwhile, much more powerful superheroes acknowledge their need for relationship and commitment to others and...
