Saturday, January 23, 2021 | Reflections
While on a sabbatical in the winter of 1865, beloved clergyman and poet Phillips Brooks arranged to be in Bethlehem. On Christmas Eve, he visited the shepherds’ fields and wrote the hymn, “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” It was a tumultuous year in the U….(View...
Friday, January 22, 2021 | Reflections
The first time I saw the Sea of Galilee with my own eyes, I remember thinking, “This is nothing more than a big lake!” I began to wonder about stories like this one from Mark, where great gales are reported. I remember sitting at sunset by the sea, peac….(View...
Thursday, January 21, 2021 | Reflections
Agnes and Cecilia are among only seven women, including the Virgin Mary, commemorated by name in the Canon of the Mass of the Roman Catholic Church. Agnes was twelve years old when she was martyred. Cecilia was older and married when she was put to death....
Wednesday, January 20, 2021 | Reflections
Fabian was an unlikely pope. He wasn’t even an ordained priest on the day of his election in 236 CE. According to tradition, as he stood in a crowd in Rome, a dove came and alighted upon Fabian’s head. The multitude began to shout, “He is worthy, he is worthy!” Just...
Tuesday, January 19, 2021 | Reflections
We have two families—the family we get and the family that we make for ourselves. Jesus points to a kinship above and beyond the reality of blood. I think the old gospel song, “Blessed Be the Tie that Binds,” preaches this word, too. What Jesus is sugg….(View...
Monday, January 18, 2021 | Reflections
“Who do you say that I am?” My spiritual director gave this question to me to contemplate for a liturgical season. She was clear: “Don’t try to spiritualize the question. Don’t try to be abstract with it or mystical: Just look at every word and think about your...
Sunday, January 17, 2021 | Reflections
We prize freedom, so it might not exactly be good news to have Paul tell the Corinthians that their bodies are not their own. He says instead that their bodies are temples for the Holy Spirit. So much of our spirituality seems to be outside our bodies,...
Saturday, January 16, 2021 | Reflections
Christian author Tony Campolo has a great book entitled, Adventures in Missing the Point. Today’s lesson from Mark is such a moment in scripture. The poor Pharisees begin to pontificate upon the law and the rules and what is “right.” On the o….(View this reading...
Friday, January 15, 2021 | Reflections
One of the most significant concerns I have about Christianity is the way we have domesticated Jesus. In our story from Mark, the Pharisees are incredulous that Jesus eats with outcasts and sinners. Jesus is explicit: These people are who he came to eat with, and this...
Thursday, January 14, 2021 | Reflections
Why do we always think that building a wall is a way to make peace? Walls to keep things out (or in) are a band-aid solution, at best. Walls do nothing to address real issues of how we live together, no matter where in the world we live.The image of walls is a...
Wednesday, January 13, 2021 | Reflections
Behind Jesus’ miracles and ministry is a habit that is easy for us to miss. He always had a rhythm to his life—a balance between extreme communal work and time alone. I admit that I struggle with following Jesus’ rhythm of intense work and intentional….(View...
Tuesday, January 12, 2021 | Reflections
Fame spread throughout the land regarding Jesus. And yet, popularity was not at all what he had come to attain or seek. Jesus was continually saying, “This is not about me—this is about the kingdom of heaven and my Father who sent me. See that in me.” Jesus sought out...
Monday, January 11, 2021 | Reflections
When the world seems out of control, words like the ones from our reading in Isaiah soothe me. At one time or another, all of us get a little carried away with our importance—surely with God, we must know just how important we are, how profoundly loved we are....
Sunday, January 10, 2021 | Reflections
Two distinct theologies have developed around baptism. One, I call magic, and the other, I call decision. Magic requires no real change. Magic is terrible theology. God loves the unbaptized person—and indeed everyone, entirely, now, already—no matter what we do....
Saturday, January 9, 2021 | Reflections
Julia Chester Emery served as the national secretary of the Women’s Auxiliary of the Board of Missions for forty years, from 1876 to 1916. For the Episcopal Church, perhaps her most significant and longest-lasting legacy is the United Thank Offering. The ….(View...
