Monday, February 26, 2018 | Reflections
The woman in this story from Luke knows the biblical prohibitions about women and bleeding. In her twelve years of suffering, she has become an outcast, undesirable and unwanted. And yet she has faith in this miracle-worker Jesus—faith that even brushing the hem of...
Monday, February 26, 2018 | Reflections
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Sunday, February 25, 2018 | Reflections
Second Week in Lent Get Behind Me, Peter: Forgiving Unconditionally Almost every week I find the voice of the Spirit by browsing, the Lectionary, the Daily Office readings, or pondering a sermon or some incident in life. This time it is a confluence of many words and...
Sunday, February 25, 2018 | Reflections
Luke is not a feminist by any stretch, but it is only in this gospel that we hear from Elizabeth as she recognizes Mary, “the mother of my Lord.” And Luke is the only gospel to recount Mary’s obedience to God: “Let it be with me according to your word,” and her...
Saturday, February 24, 2018 | Reflections
In the lectionary readings from the Torah, we skip right from Noah to Abram with no explanation in between. If you are a new Christian or don’t know much about the Bible it may seem like a random collection of stories. Who are these people, and where do they...
Saturday, February 24, 2018 | Reflections
I made breakfast for my dad as he was recovering from surgery. “Just how you like it,” I said, presenting him with a plate of dark toast. He smiled. “I’ve never liked the burnt bread. I just always took the dark slices because you and your sisters didn’t like...
Friday, February 23, 2018 | Reflections
In the last several weeks, the world has been watching young athletes from many countries compete in various winter sporting events. The young people have trained hard, and they have worked long hours to earn their place on their countries’ Olympic teams. Each person...
Friday, February 23, 2018 | Reflections
Jesus can’t win for losing. On the one hand, people condemn the austerity of John the Baptist, who forgoes bread and wine. And on the other hand, they criticize Jesus for his alleged indulgences of eating and drinking, even with tax collectors and sinners. How can he...
Thursday, February 22, 2018 | Reflections
One of my friend’s writes personal essays. Today he titled his ‘When the roll is called up yonder, or queer confessions of an ex-evangelical’. Even before I read his essay the song When the Roll is Called Up Yonder started playing in my head and...
Thursday, February 22, 2018 | Reflections
Practicing the golden rule can be hard—just ask my sisters. In this portion of Luke, Jesus takes the golden rule to the next level by telling us not only to treat others as we want to be treated but also to treat them better than they treat us. He wants us to love our...
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Reflections
Psalm 19 Walking in the frozen dawn, this morning, I was awed by the glaze of marmalade light on steel blue snow. Despite everything that is happening in the world, color and beauty still possess the morning. I stopped to watch a large crow, black and shiny as...
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Reflections
The Gospel of Matthew offers us a more familiar text of the beatitudes—blessings, really—that express a new type of teaching, a faith of compassion and mercy. Luke’s version is a bit more direct than Matthew’s—he adds the “woes” to the beatitudes. Not only are the...
Wednesday, February 21, 2018 | Reflections
Last night, I attended a local vigil and call to action following last week’s terrible slaughter at a high school in Florida. These lines formed part of my remarks. In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus asks the crowd, “Who among you, if your child asks for a fish, would...
Tuesday, February 20, 2018 | Reflections
The doctor ordered me to the hospital in the thirty-second week of my pregnancy, forbidding me from standing or walking unless I needed the bathroom. I wasn’t ready for bed rest. I still had to finish the nursery, wash baby clothes, and wrap up things at work. I...
Monday, February 19, 2018 | Reflections
I couldn’t move. Nor did I have any desire to move. Finally, my 6-month-old fell asleep. He fell asleep in my arms. He’d been fighting sleep for a while. We did that nap-time-please-fall-asleep-baby-dance for a while. He’d cry. I’d hold him. He’d cry some more....
