ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSeptember 26, 2021In Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he writes: “If I give away all my possessions, and if I hand over my body so that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.” I read those words, the giving away of everything including one’s life, and I am awestruck. Yet Paul does not appear impressed, pointing back to love as the component
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSeptember 25, 2021Beginning this coming Sunday, and then for another four Sundays, I will preach on the Love Passage from 1st Corinthians. We’ve all heard it at a wedding as it is probably the most common passage requested by a couple. Paul, of course, was not writing this letter to couples who would soon be tying the knot, but to a community that appeared to have lost
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSeptember 24, 2021Have you ever felt like something prepared you for something else? You did something small that provided some comfort or confidence when the bigger thing came your way? When Jesus was providing some coaching on faithfulness, he said, “Whoever is faithful with little is also faithful with much…” For the longest time, I pictured God testing us with a little something, scoring us, and then
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSeptember 23, 2021In the Episcopal Church, the Presiding Bishop is Michael Curry. At a recent meeting of the Bishops, he used the “narthex” as a sort of metaphor for where we are. The “narthex” is a church term for the lobby outside the sanctuary of a church building, a sort of middle space between the sanctuary and the outside. Curry said, “We are living in a narthex
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSeptember 22, 2021I love Richard Rohr! He is a Franciscan Friar and author who brings such wonderful insights to life and faith and what it means to be a human being. In a recent Blog Post, he quoted the 14th century mystic, St. Catherine of Siena, who wrote: “It’s heaven all the way to heaven…” I won’t pretend to know what she meant by those words, but
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSeptember 21, 2021When I was attending church camp as a youth, we would sing the “Garden Song” by Pete Seeger. I loved that song, and I still find its opening verses coming back to my mind and lips, often for no apparent reason. It starts with these words: Inch by inch, row by rowGonna make this garden growGonna mulch it deep and lowGonna make it fertile ground
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSeptember 20, 2021Prayer for the Week: Hope of the Universe, we are drained and exhausted, left feeling as if where we find ourselves is where we will be. There is anger in the streets, voices crying from beneath the boot of exploitation, the lonely driven deeper into despair and the grieving unable to speak their pain. We are tired and there is an emptiness felt deep within
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSeptember 19, 2021Once again, I have been fascinated by SpaceX’s trip into orbit with four “tourists.” What does it mean to venture into the unknown? Yes, these four individuals received training, but they were not professional astronauts. They were crossing a threshold, one that very few have ever crossed. And though SpaceX has shown their rockets to be quite safe and reliable, those sitting in the capsule
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSeptember 18, 2021Jesus did many things well, but two in particular were: Telling stories and asking questions. And when you think about a story, especially when it does not conclude with a fable-like moral, there is often an indirect question or two being asked. A story draws you in, and you’re often left asking, “How would I have responded?” In Mark 3:4, Jesus asks a question of
ECCLESIOLOGICAL ETCHINGSeptember 17, 2021There are times when I come across something funny in scripture that was probably never intended to be funny. Many of these times the humor is sort of inappropriate, or shows my immaturity and complete lack of taste. In Matthew 9:27, we read: “As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, crying loudly, ‘Have mercy on us, Son of David!’” How exactly