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One of my favorite writers, Barbara Brown Taylor, once observed that most Christians keep eight of the Ten Commandments. The first many neglect is the 2nd—the prohibition against graven images. (In 787 AD, the Second Council of Nicaea affirmed that because God had come to earth in human form, images of Jesus were permissible. Since then, icons, stained glass, and portraits of Christ have been widely accepted.) But the other commandment often overlooked is the 4th:… Read More
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No, “cianalas” is not a word usually connected to Christmas, but it reminds me of Christmas. In Scotland it is a Gaelic word that we have no direct translation for in English. But it means a kind of longing for home and all that means. It’s a yearning not just for a specific place but for a connection – to our roots, to family and to a spiritual connection that is more than just nostalgia. It… Read More
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“Have faith”. Maybe somebody has said that to us. Maybe we have said it to ourselves. Most of us would say we have faith, but aren’t there times when we wish our faith was deeper and greater? Aren’t there moments when we think our faith isn’t as strong as it should be, or as robust as we think it should be. We aren’t alone. There is a story, in the 17th chapter of Luke, when the… Read More
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The first of some video reflections I will be posting. Read More
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One year ago, this very day, I was already awake at 4AM when it was time to get ready to go to the hospital to have a cancerous tumor on my left kidney removed. My wife Barb, and my son (who had flown halfway around the world to be there), were with me. In the days since the diagnosis, I had gone through that range of emotions that everyone who receives such news goes through. But… Read More
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The way John begins his account of that first Easter is like this – “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the tomb.” Easter begins in the darkness. On that Sunday, when Mary woke up, for her it was still Good Friday, but Easter had already started. It was still dark, as far as she… Read More
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Each year of my ministry we offered a Maundy Thursday service of Tenebrae. I have to admit that it was always one of the least attended services of the year, but it was also one that I found the most meaningful. Yes, the last hours of Jesus’ life and his crucifixion are hard to hear about, but without hearing the whole story, Easter won’t mean as much as it could and won’t carry the same power… Read More
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Recently, while flying home from Saudi Arabia, just as Lent was beginning, I looked out the plane window as we passed over the Sinai. This is the region where the Book of Exodus tells us that Moses and the Israelites wandered the desert for 40 years. The landscape I saw was stark and barren—truly a wilderness. This imagery of the “wilderness” is central to our Lenten reflections, not only in the Exodus story but also in… Read More
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God, we thank you for the gift of this season of Lent. As we enter this time, may we be filled with your spirit, so that we might grow deeper in your love. As we begin this journey, we think about Jesus in the wilderness – being tested – we remember that he did this to show us that he knows what our lives can be – and to show us how to live our lives.… Read More
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For most people, Christmas is a single day, but for the Church, it is a season—a season that lasts from December 25th until January 6th, the day of Epiphany. These 12 days of Christmas not only bridge two important days of our faith, but they also span the end of one year and the beginning of a new one. Somehow, these things are deeply connected. On one hand, we mark the birth of Jesus into our… Read More
Renewed in Spirit 