Sunday, June 22, 2025 – Isaiah 65:1-9, Psalm 22:19-28, Galatians 3:23-29, Luke 8:26-39 I want to begin today with a question: Have you ever felt as though God is far away—perhaps hidden or silent just when you needed God most? One of those childhood games that never seems to go out of fashion is hide […]
Sunday, May 18 – Acts 11:1-18, Psalm 148, Revelation 21:1-6, John 13:31-35 [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=\”\”]Have you ever had the experience of something that you initially thought was a bad thing turning into a good thing? When I lost my job at the University of the South during Covid in 2020, I was devastated. I didn’t necessarily
Sunday, May 4 – Acts 9:1-6 [7-20], Psalm 30, Revelation 5:11-14, John 21:1-19 I’m currently reading a book called Why Religion Went Obsolete, by Christian Smith, a sociologist at the University of Notre Dame (see his conversation with Tripp Fuller below). In it, Smith writes about societal movements and changes since the 1990s that came
Thursday, April 17, 2025, Maundy Thursday – Gospel: John 13:1-17, 31b-35, 1 Corinthians 12:12-14, 20-27 In 2023, I had the incredible privilege of co-leading a spiritual pilgrimage to the Isle of Iona off the coast of Scotland. It was quite a journey getting there. We of course flew overnight to Glasgow and then after a restful
Sunday, March 23, 2025, Lent 3 – Isaiah 55:1-9, Psalm 63:1-8, 1 Corinthians 10:1-13, Luke 13:1-9 Every religion, Christianity included, has a mystical tradition that speaks of those who have had direct encounters with God. We already know many from the Bible, including Moses meeting the burning bush, Jacob’s vision of the ladder and its
Sunday, February 23, 2025 – Genesis 45:3-11, 15, Psalm 37:1-11, 39-40, 1 Corinthians 15:35-38, 42-50, Luke 6:27-38 Jesus tells us that we should love our enemies and do good to those who hurt us. Has there ever been any more difficult teaching than this? I’ve seen an image going around in certain circles that shows
Sunday, January 12, 2025 – Isaiah 43:1-7, Psalm 29, Acts 8:14-17, Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Most Sunday evenings, I have a standing date. Not with a man, but with a Masterpiece, the Masterpiece TV show on PBS that shows British dramas and mysteries, that is. I can’t get enough of them. I’ve often joked that I want
Sunday, September 29, 2024 – Mark 9:30-37 also Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29, Psalm 19:7-14, James 5:13-20 I first began to understand the connection between food and its effects on my physical and emotional health in the mid-1990s, when I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia. Not only did I experience physical pain and chronic fatigue, but also
Sunday, September 15, 2024 – Mark 8:27-38 also Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 116:1-9, James 3:1-12 Our readings today – aside from the gospel – touch on the potential dangers of speaking and the value of listening. Both Isaiah and the Psalm mention our listening to God and God’s listening to us. And then James weighs in
Sunday, September 8 – Mark 7:24-37 also Isaiah 35: 4-7a, Psalm 146, James 2:1-10 [11-13] 14-17 “Eraser” by David Hayward | Naked Pastor You may have seen one of my favorite cartoons. It’s just a black and white sketch created by David Hayward (who goes by “Naked Pastor”) that shows a bunch of people with
