Love Your Enemies

‘But I say to you that listen, Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you. If anyone strikes you on the cheek, offer the other also; and from anyone who takes away your coat do not withhold even your shirt. Give to everyone who begs from you; and if anyone takes away your goods, do not ask for them again. Do to others as you would have them do to you. ‘If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. If you lend to those from whom you hope to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High; for he is kind to the ungrateful and the wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful. ‘Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.’ Luke 6:27-38

In these times, when divisions are clear and enemies clearly identified, we can easily vilified people and call them our enemies. It is much harder to love the despots and those who lord their wealth over others, crushing the spirits of the vulnerable. It is easy to call those our enemies. Yet Jesus calls us to love them and afford them kindness and consideration, even when they are not giving us the same. This is truly hard for us humans. It requires us to see beyond the fury and falsehoods to someone who might be hurting, and needing to hurt others to soothe themselves, to wield power cruelly in order to quiet their own demons. We are not called to be suffering martyrs but rather to embrace love and forgiveness so fully that we forgive even ourselves. Jesus reminded us that as difficult as loving enemies might be, we will know the reward as a "good measure, pressed down and running over."

Wondrous Creator, who gave us the power to love

and despite our human limitations we know power

by living by your greatest commandment to love

and to constantly forgive those who have hurt us.

We often get riled up and get prepared for battle

knowing our own truths without understanding

and acting righteous overlooking our own flaws

forgetting your commandment to love all creation.

Lord, help us today to love enemy and friend alike

help us be always ready to forgive and to pray

make us those who care for the outcasts of society

so they too may know the love that you give us. Amen.

Blessings and Woes

Now during those days he went out to the mountain to pray; and he spent the night in prayer to God. And when day came, he called his disciples and chose twelve of them, whom he also named apostles: Simon, whom he named Peter, and his brother Andrew, and James, and John, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James son of Alphaeus, and Simon, who was called the Zealot, and Judas son of James, and Judas Iscariot, who became a traitor. He came down with them and stood on a level place, with a great crowd of his disciples and a great multitude of people from all Judea, Jerusalem, and the coast of Tyre and Sidon. They had come to hear him and to be healed of their diseases; and those who were troubled with unclean spirits were cured. And all in the crowd were trying to touch him, for power came out from him and healed all of them. Then he looked up at his disciples and said: ‘Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. ‘Blessed are you who are hungry now, for you will be filled. ‘Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. ‘Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you, revile you, and defame you on account of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and leap for joy, for surely your reward is great in heaven; for that is what their ancestors did to the prophets. ‘But woe to you who are rich, for you have received your consolation. ‘Woe to you who are full now, for you will be hungry. ‘Woe to you who are laughing now, for you will mourn and weep. ‘Woe to you when all speak well of you, for that is what their ancestors did to the false prophets. Luke 6:12-26

In a time when all of the rhetoric seems to be about winners and losers, the greatest and the worst, the most brilliant and the stupidest, Jesus speaks directly to our times. He knew those who were suffering and hungry were honest, loving people and most often those who were wealthy and secure were dishonest and cruel. He saw through the glitter and the talk right down to their hearts. May we remember this as we walk through this world. The least among us are our greatest blessing and where our Lord will be found.

Loving Creator, you bless all creation

giving us sun and rain for the crops

wind and moonlight so we can sail

and abundantly love all of creation.

We are swift to judge and dismiss

we see those struggling and blame

we envy the rich and copy them

not understanding what love really is.

May we live today with open hearts

may we be a blessing to all we meet

may our lives not be measured by wealth

but by the way we love those around us. Amen.

Lord of the Sabbath

One sabbath while Jesus was going through the cornfields, his disciples plucked some heads of grain, rubbed them in their hands, and ate them. But some of the Pharisees said, ‘Why are you doing what is not lawful on the sabbath?’ Jesus answered, ‘Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry? He entered the house of God and took and ate the bread of the Presence, which it is not lawful for any but the priests to eat, and gave some to his companions?’ Then he said to them, ‘The Son of Man is lord of the sabbath.’ On another sabbath he entered the synagogue and taught, and there was a man there whose right hand was withered. The scribes and the Pharisees watched him to see whether he would cure on the sabbath, so that they might find an accusation against him. Even though he knew what they were thinking, he said to the man who had the withered hand, ‘Come and stand here.’ He got up and stood there. Then Jesus said to them, ‘I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the sabbath, to save life or to destroy it?’ After looking around at all of them, he said to him, ‘Stretch out your hand.’ He did so, and his hand was restored. But they were filled with fury and discussed with one another what they might do to Jesus. Luke 6:1-11

Today marks 35 years since I was ordained a priest. It was only legal to make women priests for a little more than 15 years and less than two years after Barbara Harris was consecrated as the first female bishop. Before then it was illegal for us to serve as priests and bishops. The rules humans make for the life of faith and for a country are often at odds with what God desires. Jesus teaches radical inclusion. He invites all to serve and be a part of the life of the church. It has taken millennium for the church to catch up with God's desire of inclusion. And many ignore God's desires and set out rigid rules and exclusionary behavior. Still God desires us to see everyone as part of the family and everyone able to be servant leaders among us.

Loving Creator, your arms surround all creation

your heart is for all people in every generation

you see beyond our human constraints and rules

trusting in the potential healing of each of us.

We love to exclude, weaponize and judge

despite that you have told us not to judge

we set ourselves above other people 

even though we know you love them too.

Help us today Lord to learn to love again

not as the world loves in a limited way

but with your generous all-embracing love

which transform the world in every generation. Amen.

Fourth Sunday of Easter - May 11, 2025

Fourth Sunday of Easter - May 11, 2025

At that time the festival of the Dedication took place in Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the portico of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly." Jesus answered, "I have told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father's name testify to me; but you do not believe, because you do not belong to my sheep. My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one will snatch them out of my hand. What my Father has given me is greater than all else, and no one can snatch it out of the Father's hand. The Father and I are one." John 10:22-30

We hear Jesus refer to himself, again and again, as a shepherd, the protector of the sheep. He uses this illustration because folks of sheep and their shepherds were ever present in their daily lives and travels. Few of us have sheep in our daily lives or in our daily travels. We often have some nursery or Sunday school picture of shepherds and sheep - tender, watercolor, pastel images. Raising and protecting sheep is not anything easy. It is a rough life, with dangers all around. Making sure there is food and pasture enough, water enough and enough humans and a few dogs to keep watch in every hour and situation. Jesus is telling us he is that - the one who feeds, finds us pasture and safe spaces as well as protecting us from all predators and dangers. We often scream at God when our lives have hit hard times, but do we notice the days, months and years when we have been kept safe despite our thickheaded and dangerous wanderings? May we praise God today for the safety and protection we receive and which goes unnoticed day after day.

Marvelous Creator, you put us in families

with parents who protect us day in and out

and show us how you love us completely.

Lord, we are grateful for your loving care and protection.

We are all stubborn and willful children

who wander away and never really listen

and are blessed that you will still care for us.

Lord, we are grateful for your loving care and protection.

Help us to see your hand working for good

and help us to be good protectors and friends

so all may see the love that surrounds us all.

Lord, we are grateful for your loving care and protection.

Lift up those who are fearful in daily life

carry the refugees and strangers to safety.

Lord, we are grateful for your loving care and protection.

Make us mindful of those who are afraid

and give us the strength to shelter them.

Lord, we are grateful for your loving care and protection.

For you feed us and care for us every day

and all of creation is blessed by your love. 

Lord, we are grateful for your loving care and protection. Amen.

Seeing Their Faith

Once, when he was in one of the cities, there was a man covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he bowed with his face to the ground and begged him, ‘Lord, if you choose, you can make me clean.’ Then Jesus stretched out his hand, touched him, and said, ‘I do choose. Be made clean.’ Immediately the leprosy left him. And he ordered him to tell no one. ‘Go’, he said, ‘and show yourself to the priest, and, as Moses commanded, make an offering for your cleansing, for a testimony to them.’ But now more than ever the word about Jesus spread abroad; many crowds would gather to hear him and to be cured of their diseases. But he would withdraw to deserted places and pray. One day, while he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting nearby (they had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem); and the power of the Lord was with him to heal. Just then some men came, carrying a paralyzed man on a bed. They were trying to bring him in and lay him before Jesus; but finding no way to bring him in because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the middle of the crowd in front of Jesus. When he saw their faith, he said, ‘Friend, your sins are forgiven you.’ Then the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, ‘Who is this who is speaking blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?’ When Jesus perceived their questionings, he answered them, ‘Why do you raise such questions in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, “Your sins are forgiven you”, or to say, “Stand up and walk”? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins’—he said to the one who was paralyzed— ‘I say to you, stand up and take your bed and go to your home.’ Immediately he stood up before them, took what he had been lying on, and went to his home, glorifying God. Amazement seized all of them, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, ‘We have seen strange things today.’ Luke 5:12-26

There are times when we can do what needs to be done. There are also times when we cannot do anything on our own and need the help and ingenuity of others. Whether we lack health, or strength, or funds or knowledge, we have to rely on the kindness and generosity of others. We find ourselves all in hard times, where everything is off balance and no one seems to know what to do. And these are the times when our faith encourages us to do whatever it takes. We may need to speak up even if our voice is shaking, we might need to stand firm when everyone is caving, and we may need to break open a roof. Jesus saw the action of faith and love in one man's friends and immediately healed him. Let us be those friends in this time.

Wondrous Creator, who scattered the stars

so that we might have direction in the dark

and who made the oceans always changing

so we might see your constancy in every tide.

The poor and the immigrants are suffering

we want to turn away and dismiss their fears

yet we too are scared of the times ahead

and wonder how we all will survive here.

Lord, help us to have faith like roof breakers

willing to carry others and not be suppressed

love which is willing to speak up and act

for the healing and restoration of all creation. Amen.

Let Down Your Nets

Once while Jesus was standing beside the lake of Gennesaret, and the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he saw two boats there at the shore of the lake; the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little way from the shore. Then he sat down and taught the crowds from the boat. When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, ‘Put out into the deep water and let down your nets for a catch.’ Simon answered, ‘Master, we have worked all night long but have caught nothing. Yet if you say so, I will let down the nets.’ When they had done this, they caught so many fish that their nets were beginning to break. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man!’ For he and all who were with him were amazed at the catch of fish that they had taken; and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. Then Jesus said to Simon, ‘Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching people.’ When they had brought their boats to shore, they left everything and followed him. Luke 5:1-11

Many of us are weary and exhausted from working for justice and equality while around us justice and equality are ignored. We have been out in deep water for so long and are getting nowhere, it seems. To weary fishermen, who were washing and putting away their nets, Jesus tells them to go deeper and let down the nets. Right. They so this and are overwhelmed by the catch. It is time for us also, not to give up and clean up, but rather to go deeper and let down the nets. God love and inclusion are needed now more than ever.

Loving Creator, source of all abundance

you renew our capacity when exhausted

you heal us all when we are broken

and you draw us together as your family.

The authorities are breaking up families

we are ready to call it quits and go home

it seems that the power is with the rich

and the poor are sent away empty handed.

You, O Lord, remind us that this is the time

the time to be bold and cast out the nets

this is the time to lead with love and embrace

and we are those who are called to serve all. Amen.

She Began to Serve

After leaving the synagogue he entered Simon’s house. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked him about her. Then he stood over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. Immediately she got up and began to serve them. As the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various kinds of diseases brought them to him; and he laid his hands on each of them and cured them. Demons also came out of many, shouting, ‘You are the Son of God!’ But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew that he was the Messiah. At daybreak he departed and went into a deserted place. And the crowds were looking for him; and when they reached him, they wanted to prevent him from leaving them. But he said to them, ‘I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose.’ So he continued proclaiming the message in the synagogues of Judea. Luke 4:38-44

Too often, those who have so much want more. Those who have little and who have been shown kindness are nearly always grateful. Those who are grateful always want to show their gratitude by serving others. Simon's mother was sick and was healed by Jesus. She got up and served them, not because they demanded it or she had to, but because she was so grateful that her life was restored. May we who have been touched by the love and generosity of God turn and serve others today.

Gracious Creator, you heal us and feed us

you give us shelter and safe places to live

you surround us with your abundance

and make us part of a wider community.

Too often we fall into self-pity and gripping

we want all of our troubles to be gone

we want an easy life and to be pampered

yet when we know love we are ready to serve.

Lord, help us get up and serve those in need

let our gratitude be displayed in taking care

make us agents of change by loving the stranger

and making a place at the table for all who come in. Amen.

Be Silent

He went down to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and was teaching them on the sabbath. They were astounded at his teaching, because he spoke with authority. In the synagogue there was a man who had the spirit of an unclean demon, and he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Let us alone! What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are, the Holy One of God.’ But Jesus rebuked him, saying, ‘Be silent, and come out of him!’ When the demon had thrown him down before them, he came out of him without having done him any harm. They were all amazed and kept saying to one another, ‘What kind of utterance is this? For with authority and power he commands the unclean spirits, and out they come!’ And a report about him began to reach every place in the region. Luke 4:31-37

It is important for us, in this time, to hear that the loudest voices are often those of demons rather that voices of good. This is too true in our time. Too many are listening to the loudest voices, the ones who would hurt and defile the people for the sake of power. Love doesn't shout though love may sing. Kindness and compassion do not require noise. Justice is not loud. Justice is steady and unflinching in the face of rude and loud voices.

Loving Creator, source of all justice

you are the still small voice in this noise

you call us to bring justice and comfort

and to follow your way of inclusion.

This is a time of great bluster and shouting

where name calling and abuse seem approved

when people are pulled from the street

and where justice seems to be sleeping.

Lord, help us to be your silent witnesses

and help us to serve all of your people

may we speak softly and work tirelessly

for you promise love, justice and healing for all. Amen.

Bring Good News

Then Jesus, filled with the power of the Spirit, returned to Galilee, and a report about him spread through all the surrounding country. He began to teach in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, he went to the synagogue on the sabbath day, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was given to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where it was written: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.’ And he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them, ‘Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.’ All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’ He said to them, ‘Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, “Doctor, cure yourself!” And you will say, “Do here also in your home town the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.” ’ And he said, ‘Truly I tell you, no prophet is accepted in the prophet’s home town. But the truth is, there were many widows in Israel in the time of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up for three years and six months, and there was a severe famine over all the land; yet Elijah was sent to none of them except to a widow at Zarephath in Sidon. There were also many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.’ When they heard this, all in the synagogue were filled with rage. They got up, drove him out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they might hurl him off the cliff. But he passed through the midst of them and went on his way. Luke 4:14-30

Good news and unconditional love are not always welcome things. Folks who crave power and control need to keep others down to get their way. When we talk about good news to the poor, setting the prisoners free, healing and release for the oppressed, the people who need to be in power react violently. This was the reaction that Jesus received when he read from the scriptures, from the word of God. Our Creator has been unconditional love, freedom, healing and liberation from the beginning. When we see people oppose those things, we know we are called to love more and serve the least among us.

Loving Creator, you bring good news always

in every season you provide healing and release

you smile on the poor and the abused and blind

and wrap them in your blanket of eternal love.

We live in a time when love is a thing of weakness

where power and fame have deep roots here

and we feel powerless to find love and deep strength

to defy the powers of selfishness and cruelty.

Make us your followers again, so we might serve

take our pride and fear from us and give us strength

as we bring your love and healing in dark times

and share your unconditional love with the world. Amen.

Third Sunday of Easter May 4th, 2025

Third Sunday of Easter

Jesus showed himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias; and he showed himself in this way. Gathered there together were Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples. Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We will go with you." They went out and got into the boat, but that night they caught nothing. Just after daybreak, Jesus stood on the beach; but the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, "Children, you have no fish, have you?" They answered him, "No." He said to them, "Cast the net to the right side of the boat, and you will find some." So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in because there were so many fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, "It is the Lord!" When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on some clothes, for he was naked, and jumped into the sea. But the other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, only about a hundred yards off. When they had gone ashore, they saw a charcoal fire there, with fish on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, "Bring some of the fish that you have just caught." So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, a hundred fifty-three of them; and though there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, "Come and have breakfast." Now none of the disciples dared to ask him, "Who are you?" because they knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and did the same with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus appeared to the disciples after he was raised from the dead. When they had finished breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my lambs." A second time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" He said to him, "Yes, Lord; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Tend my sheep." He said to him the third time, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter felt hurt because he said to him the third time, "Do you love me?" And he said to him, "Lord, you know everything; you know that I love you." Jesus said to him, "Feed my sheep. Very truly, I tell you, when you were younger, you used to fasten your own belt and to go wherever you wished. But when you grow old, you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will fasten a belt around you and take you where you do not wish to go." (He said this to indicate the kind of death by which he would glorify God.) After this he said to him, "Follow me." John 21:1-19

 

Jesus makes himself known to the disciples by giving them an abundant catch and feeding them breakfast. In this moment of post-resurrection, the disciples seem unable to recognize Jesus. They have gone back to their familiar work, hoping to find comfort and direction. Despite the loss and confusion, Jesus feeds them and provides what they need. Jesus asks them to feed his lambs, tend his sheep, feed his sheep. Jesus comes into the familiar place and tells them to follow him in a different direction. These fishermen were called from their nets to care for the flock, for the ones who follow Jesus and need tending all the time. Before this, Jesus had led them and now, he calls them to lead the people and calls us all to tend and feed the people.

Gracious Creator, who brings new life 

in every season and in every challenge

you send us shepherds to feed and guide us.

Tender Shepherd, teach us to follow your way of love.

We get lost and wander away from your love

we go back to our familiar comfortable habits

seeking to hide from your call on our lives.

Tender Shepherd, teach us to follow your way of love.

Despite our behavior you help us and feed us

you call us to the table and invite us to serve

and you teach us how to gently tend the people.

Tender Shepherd, teach us to follow your way of love.

Give us your grace today, to care for the flock

make us your followers and help us love you.

Tender Shepherd, teach us to follow your way of love.

Much of the world has lost its way home

you call us to gently embrace the wanderers.

Tender Shepherd, teach us to follow your way of love.

For you have given your life so we might live

and you will strengthen us for the tasks ahead. 

Tender Shepherd, teach us to follow your way of love. Amen.

The Beloved

As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Messiah, John answered all of them by saying, ‘I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing-fork is in his hand, to clear his threshing-floor and to gather the wheat into his granary; but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.’ So, with many other exhortations, he proclaimed the good news to the people. But Herod the ruler, who had been rebuked by him because of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and because of all the evil things that Herod had done, added to them all by shutting up John in prison. Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ Luke 3:15-22

Some folks seem to have iron clad egos, but most of us don't, and often feel like we are unworthy or less than others. So many wonderful see only their failings and inadequacies. Yet we are children of the living God. We believe that when we are baptized, we are baptized with Jesus and born again to new life in him. We become the family of God, siblings together in Christ. Along with Jesus, we are beloved, wanted and precious to our Creator, the hands and feet of Jesus in today's world. May we act humbly and also practice living as beloved children of a loving Creator.

Wondrous Creator, you set stars in the heavens

you bring dancing light in the deepest darkness

you have filled the world with great wonders

and speak your love to us across the ages.

We often do not see the value we can be

and don't consider ourselves as your beloved

yet in every hour of every day you speak still

and you invite us to live together as beloved all.

Give us your joy and your hope again today

so we might rise up together and bring peace

make us your heart and hands here on earth

so all might know they are beloved children. Amen.

Sharing

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, ‘The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.” ’ John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, ‘You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, “We have Abraham as our ancestor”; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the axe is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.’ And the crowds asked him, ‘What then should we do?’ In reply he said to them, ‘Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.’ Even tax-collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, ‘Teacher, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.’ Soldiers also asked him, ‘And we, what should we do?’ He said to them, ‘Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.’ Luke 3:1-14

In many Indigenous tribes here, we have a tradition of giveaways. Often when one is being honored, the person being honored will hold a giveaway, where precious items are given to all the guests, strangers and friends alike. When Europeans arrived on this continent they didn't understand the practice, considering us to be ignorant and backward. Yet we hear John being asked what we should do, and he replies that we should share our coats and our food, not make profits and not extort by violence or any other means. We find ourselves in a time when giving doesn't seem to be the cultural norm anymore, yet we are called, as the ones who follow Jesus, to share and give from our abundance to all.

Loving Creator, you shower us abundantly

bringing tender plants to full maturity

harvesting the riches of the fertile earth

and giving us what we need to live daily.

We have become selfish and very greedy

unsatisfied with enough, we hoard and hide

never seeing or thinking about the needs of others

always putting ourselves and our satisfaction first.

Help us Lord to see your tremendous abundance

turn us away from selfish desires so we might see

the aching needs that are present in every town

and recognize your face in that of the outcast and stranger. Amen.

So That They May Be One

‘I ask not only on behalf of these, but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become completely one, so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory, which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. ‘Righteous Father, the world does not know you, but I know you; and these know that you have sent me. I made your name known to them, and I will make it known, so that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.’ John 17:20-26

Jesus prayed for his disciples to be one and calls us to do likewise. When this country was settled by Europeans, they were not one, warring with each other over territory and religion. Those who founded the Massachusetts colony despised Anglican and Roman Catholics. And, in our present day, we seem to be moving to more division rather than less. We are called by God to work together, to love the enemy, to care for the widow and orphan, yet we get caught up in politics and power. May we work together in the coming days, for the love of God, so human tyranny ends, and love takes hold again.

Wondrous Creator, you made your creation diverse

in climate and culture, colors and languages

and you call us to see our need for one another

so that the whole earth might thrive in harmony.

We collect with like-minded, familiar people

and call everyone else criminals and aliens

we abuse our vast wealth and our power

to terrorize and destroy all beautiful difference.

Lift us up Lord from our selfish and cruel ways

make us see the stranger as a family member

help us embrace the other so we might know ourselves

and make us your family, your people once more. Amen.

Sanctify Them in the Truth

While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth. John 17:12-19

The debate rages these days about truth, fake news, science deniers, and the like. But none of us can deny that refusing to hear the truth is healthy or life-giving. Facing the truth, as hard as it can be sometimes, is the only way to healing and wholeness. Jesus knows his disciples will be afraid and might even deny his resurrection. And they would also face rulers and governments who denied their truth and would try to destroy them. We find ourselves in times when some leaders demand complete loyalty and are unwilling to listen to the truth. It is important for us all to hang on to the truth and refuse to be taken in by the allure of power. 

Gracious Creator, you speak to us in quiet

you tell us the truth and heal our souls

you bring us refreshment and renewal

and lead us on the road of truth and justice.

We are tempted to follow the noisy ones

the ones that speak loudly and are bullies

we are drawn by strength and power

and forget you call us to be sanctified in truth.

Lord, help us to turn away from the glitter

and listen deeply to your compassion and care

let our lives be filled with you truth and love

knowing that the truth will set us all free. Amen.

St. Mark's Day (transferred)

The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, ‘See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight” ’, John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. He proclaimed, ‘The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals. I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.’ In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him. And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’ And the Spirit immediately drove him out into the wilderness. He was in the wilderness for forty days, tempted by Satan; and he was with the wild beasts; and the angels waited on him. Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.’ Mark 1:1-15

St. Mark's Day is traditionally April 25th, although this year it has been transferred to today. Mark is claimed as the author of Mark's Gospel and founded the church in Alexandria. There is much debate among scholars as to who he was, who really authored the Gospel etc. Yet in Mark, we have the gift of a simple, straight-forward telling of the story of Jesus, and the earliest. The gift of storytelling might now be as powerful as it once was, but in times when most folks were illiterate, and oral traditions were central, he gave us a Gospel, unembellished, a story for the ages. Today we are invited to be like Mark, sharing this remarkable story, with the bravery of a lion, and the simplicity which all can understand.

Gracious Creator, you paint the sky with clouds

you tell us your story of love and constancy

through what we see in the beautiful natural world

and what we hear and witness from story tellers.

Our eyes and ears are so overwhelmed by screens

we fail to see the wonder you have put before us

we fail to hear the good news shared with all of us

and we fail to live as you have called us to live.

Lord Jesus, help us to tell the story of your love

let us live as those who have been blessed by you

help us be like St. Mark, fearless and bold to share

your love and good news to the ends of the earth. Amen.

Second Sunday of Easter

Second Sunday of Easter April 27, 2025

When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you." When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained." But Thomas (who was called the Twin), one of the twelve, was not with them when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord." But he said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands, and put my finger in the mark of the nails and my hand in his side, I will not believe." A week later his disciples were again in the house, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were shut, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you." Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it in my side. Do not doubt but believe." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe." Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book. But these are written so that you may come to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in his name. John 20:19-31

Thomas, often referred to as "Doubting Thomas" is one of the most honest characters in the Gospels. The readings for Easter remind us that all of the disciples doubted the story the women told them. They probably called them hysterical, emotional women. It took seeing Jesus for those disciples to believe. We don't know why Thomas wasn't with the original group. We just know he had a hard time believing, after watching his friend and teacher die a horrible, torturous death. The disciples lived in fear, being locked behind closed doors for fear of reprisal and suffering the same fate as Jesus. I am grateful for Thomas, who was honest about his own shattered heart and who needed the intimacy of the presence of Jesus to truly believe. Thomas went on to be a beloved preacher and evangelist, bringing the Gospel message to far off locations, including India and modern-day Turkey. He was braver than the rest, for he spoke out loud, confessing his doubt and concern. His heart had been broken by the gruesome crucifixion, and it took and encounter with Jesus to repair his heart.

                                A Litany for the Second Sunday of Easter

Wondrous Creator, you made us with compassionate hearts

which often break with the circumstance and world affairs

yet you are always seeking us out so our hearts can be mended.

Lord, help us be brave like Thomas, asking for the needs of our hearts.

We strike out when we are hurt and when we are afraid

we fail to seek you out in our deep heartfelt agony

and turn to anger and rejection of the love you offer.

Lord, help us be brave like Thomas, asking for the needs of our hearts.

Yet you are always ready to heal the hidden despair

ready always to offer your wounded hands and side

ready always to seek us out in our darkest nights.

Lord, help us be brave like Thomas, asking for the needs of our hearts.

Lift us from our fears and doubts today and always

so we might share your love to a broken world.

Lord, help us be brave like Thomas, asking for the needs of our hearts.

Use our frail humanity for the healing of our planet

make us all ready to serve you in far away places.

Lord, help us be brave like Thomas, asking for the needs of our hearts.

For you have loved the doubters and the ostracized

and your love embraces this fragile earth and people still.

Lord, help us be brave like Thomas, asking for the needs of our hearts. Amen.

An Hour is Coming

‘I have said these things to you to keep you from stumbling. They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, an hour is coming when those who kill you will think that by doing so they are offering worship to God. And they will do this because they have not known the Father or me. But I have said these things to you so that when their hour comes you may remember that I told you about them. ‘I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, “Where are you going?” But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will prove the world wrong about sin and righteousness and judgement: about sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will see me no longer; about judgement, because the ruler of this world has been condemned. ‘I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, because he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine. For this reason I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. John 16:1-15

We are in a time when some who call themselves followers of Christ are condemning the refugees and immigrants as criminals and evil. I think they truly believe they are following God. In Jesus' time the leaders of the temple were like this, choosing their notion of purity over God's commandment to love the outcasts and sinners, to bring justice and healing to all. It is so hard not to turn and condemn their behavior, to turn them into criminals and evil. Oh, some folks are in every group, yet we are called to seek the spirit of truth, trusting we are Christs', and we will be lead to truth through compassion.

Gracious Creator, you provide abundantly for all 

you give us seasons for labor and seasons for learning

we are nestled in your loving arms of tender grace

and we are renewed every morning by the spirit.

Yet we like to condemn others and dismiss them

we revel in our righteousness and their failures

we are quick to judge and slow to forgive

even as you call us to forgive seventy times seven.

Lord, break open our hearts of cruel stone

and make us your people of tender compassion

give us the strength to forgive in every moment

and the humility to ask for your help always. Amen.

Love One Another

‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father. You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name. I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another. ‘If the world hates you, be aware that it hated me before it hated you. If you belonged to the world, the world would love you as its own. Because you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world—therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, “Servants are not greater than their master.” If they persecuted me, they will persecute you; if they kept my word, they will keep yours also. But they will do all these things to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates me hates my Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not have sin. But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. It was to fulfil the word that is written in their law, “They hated me without a cause.” ‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf. You also are to testify because you have been with me from the beginning. John 15:12-27

Love one another is Jesus' commandment, the one that replaces the ten, and the commandment which is hardest for us humans to do. We live in a world where hate seems to be a virtue now. Folks loudly profess their hate for people who are different, because of their color, their language, their country of origin or their identity. Where the ones who are violently hated are found, there we will find Jesus. He understood how easy it is to hate and how hard it is to love. We have to overcome training and fear in order to love. We have to practice love until it becomes second nature and all of us are still working at it. May we rejoice in the commandment to love, because there we will find Jesus.

Precious Savior, you sacrificed your life

so all of might be set free from our sin

set free from hate and cruel judgment

set free so we might love one another.

We humans enjoy hate way too much

we judge others' mistakes with great glee

we turn away from the needs of neighbors

and refuse to love those different from us.

Lord Jesus, help us follow your commandment

let love be our aim and our only goal

may we learn to love the outcasts and aliens

and finally live in the joy of your loving arms. Amen.

I Am the True Vine

‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the vine-grower. He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit. You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned. If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples. As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete. John 15:1-11

No matter how isolated, disconnected and alone we might feel, the message from Jesus is clear. We are all interconnected, abiding in one strong vine, full of love and possibilities, even in hard times. Despite the rhetoric, the voices that honor and idolize self-made people, we are none of us self-made. We are interdependent, interconnected and woven into a community that spans countless generations. We are tied to a loving Creator, wrapped in the arms of a loving Savior and buoyed up by a generous Holy Spirit. When we see all as relatives, and interdependent, we are living as disciples and changing the world by loving all living beings.

Loving Creator, you are near to all creation

you breathe through the tree leaves budding

you sing with the birds in the early morning

and you weep with the homeless on the streets.

We make ourselves busy with daily tasks

and believe we are doing well on our own

we overlooked the unhoused and the refugees

and we congratulate ourselves for not being poor.

Help us to see the world through your eyes

move our hearts to serve those who are suffering

change us so we might see all the connections

and rejoice that we are embedded in an eternal community. Amen.

I Will Not Leave You Orphaned

‘If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you. ‘I will not leave you orphaned; I am coming to you. In a little while the world will no longer see me, but you will see me; because I live, you also will live. On that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. They who have my commandments and keep them are those who love me; and those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words; and the word that you hear is not mine, but is from the Father who sent me. ‘I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not let them be afraid. You heard me say to you, “I am going away, and I am coming to you.” If you loved me, you would rejoice that I am going to the Father, because the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you this before it occurs, so that when it does occur, you may believe. I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming. He has no power over me; but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us be on our way. John 14:15-31

When my mother passed away in 2015, there was a deep sense of abandonment and loss that overwhelmed me. I said to a friend, "now, I am an orphan!" She and I had played together as small children, often imagining ourselves as orphans, when we weren't being pirates, queens or schoolteachers. Jesus understood how bereft his disciples would be. He felt their grief and pain even before they experienced it. And his promise to them and to us, that we are not orphaned, abandoned or neglected, even when we feel that way. He promised the advocate, the holy spirit, to be with us in every breath and every moment. We are invited, when we feel lost, abandoned or orphaned to know that Jesus is always near and the holy spirit is with us in every moment.  And his peace, given to the anxious and terrified alike, is with us, even when we know no peace.

Gracious Creator, you plant us in villages

surround us with family and community

teaching us how to live in peace together

and binding us with your blessed holy spirit.

Too often we forget to follow your commandments

we forget to love the stranger, feed the hungry

we fail to visit those in prison and who are sick

and we focus on satisfying our selfish needs.

Lord Jesus, you gave your life for our sakes

you took our sin, pain and sorrow to the cross

help us to live as your family and community again

making your love and service our way of life. Amen.

I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life

‘Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house there are many dwelling-places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going.’ Thomas said to him, ‘Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’ Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and we will be satisfied.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you all this time, Philip, and you still do not know me? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father”? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own; but the Father who dwells in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; but if you do not, then believe me because of the works themselves. Very truly, I tell you, the one who believes in me will also do the works that I do and, in fact, will do greater works than these, because I am going to the Father. I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If in my name you ask me for anything, I will do it. John 14:1-14

We live in a time when team and brand loyalty are more important than faith. On this Easter Monday, when folks in Massachusetts are celebrating Patriots' Day, folks from all over are here running the Boston Marathon, we can get distracted and easily lose focus. Along with the celebratory events, we have news that Pope Francis has passed away. Throughout his life and ministry, he not only advocated for the poor and the marginalized, he lived among them and cared for them. When the disciples ask Jesus to show them the way and where he was going, he simply reminded them to follow him. And following Jesus calls us to dwell with the prisoners and outcasts, feed the hungry, tend to the sick and stand with the marginalized. On this Easter Monday, when everything can distract us, let us accept Jesus' invitation to believe in him, and live like his followers today.

Wondrous Creator, you offered your child

so that we might draw close to you in him

so that the world might not be broken apart

but might be drawn together and mended well.

We find ourselves caught up in politics

horrified or enthusiastic about the rhetoric

we allow the ugly and the unkind to distract us

and get lost on our way to following Jesus.

Help us Lord, have faith in you once again

make our hands and hearts able to respond

to the needs that surround and overwhelm us

as we follow the way, the truth and the life, Jesus. Amen.

Easter Day 2025

Easter Sunday 2025

On the first day of the week, at early dawn, the women who had come with Jesus from Galilee came to the tomb, taking the spices that they had prepared. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they went in, they did not find the body. While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothes stood beside them. The women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he told you, while he was still in Galilee, that the Son of Man must be handed over to sinners, and be crucified, and on the third day rise again." Then they remembered his words, and returning from the tomb, they told all this to the eleven and to all the rest. Now it was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them who told this to the apostles. But these words seemed to them an idle tale, and they did not believe them. But Peter got up and ran to the tomb; stooping and looking in, he saw the linen cloths by themselves; then he went home, amazed at what had happened. Luke 24:1-12

The story of the first Easter is both dazzling and all too human. Brokenhearted and grieving women go out to the tomb to honor their friend. They were planning to wash and anoint his body, since his lifeless body was whisked away before they had a chance. They were risking everything, in a tense and violent environment, to honor the one they loved. Their act might seem like a normal thing to us, but it might also have been seen as treason. In the darkness of early dawn they crept out, in tears, to honor Jesus. And they became the first witnesses of the resurrection. The disciples didn't believe them, they were "only" women. The least were shown the greatest gift. May we remember this Easter Sunday, how in the midst of sorrow and duty, love arisen and renewed is revealed to the humble and overlooked among us.

                                        A Litany for Easter Sunday

Wondrous Creator, source of light and life

you give us signs of your renewing love

in the life bursting from the ground around us.

Jesus, we praise you, risen and living among us, Alleluia.

We see the toil and the drudgery ahead of us

to make our gardens spring to abundant life

forgetting that each new day is a spectacular gift.

Jesus, we praise you, risen and living among us, Alleluia.

You lift us up from underneath the dust and rubble

your mend broken hearts and welcome the stranger

make us ready to be witnesses of your love here.

Jesus, we praise you, risen and living among us, Alleluia.

Take our arrogance and our annoying insecurities

and turn them into humble gratitude and great joy.

Jesus, we praise you, risen and living among us, Alleluia.

Help us to turn to our neighbors and open our hearts

so we might see new life where sorrow used to live.

Jesus, we praise you, risen and living among us, Alleluia.

And make us listen to the bird song and the breeze

so we might know this day of resurrection always.

Jesus, we praise you, risen and living among us, Alleluia. Amen, Alleluia!

Holy Saturday

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his, for he made it, and the dry land, which his hands have formed. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work. For forty years I loathed that generation and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they do not regard my ways.’ Therefore in my anger I swore, ‘They shall not enter my rest.’ Psalm 95

As we await the resurrection, and proclaim again the Easter story, I have decided to share with you a reflection I have been pondering since my consecration anniversary, April 6th. In my 24th year, I have some simple advice, top ten things to cling to, for new bishops and clergy (and lay leaders) alike.

1. It's never about you, it's about Jesus.
2. Your first ministry, your call, is to your family.
3.This is their diocese, their home, not yours.
4. Bishop's visits are anxious and exhausting. Be grateful.
5. Live with curiosity and never with judgment. Be humble.
6. Listen deeply and listen over and over again.
7. God is always speaking, so practice shutting up.
8. Being bishop is a role, and it's not yours to reimagine.
9. Pray fiercely and in every circumstance and decision.
10. Again, it's about Jesus. He loves us all so love all of your people.

Good Friday

Good Friday 2025

So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, ‘Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.’ Many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, in Latin, and in Greek. Then the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, ‘Do not write, “The King of the Jews”, but, “This man said, I am King of the Jews.” ’ Pilate answered, ‘What I have written I have written.’ When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took his tunic; now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, ‘Let us not tear it, but cast lots for it to see who will get it.’ This was to fulfil what the scripture says, ‘They divided my clothes among themselves, and for my clothing they cast lots.’ And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’ Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. After this, when Jesus knew that all was now finished, he said (in order to fulfil the scripture), ‘I am thirsty.’ A jar full of sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the wine, he said, ‘It is finished.’ Then he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19:17-30

Today is a day that much of the world ignores. Dwelling on death is too hard for most people. We do not like to look on the grief of others, let alone focus on our own. Yet today is a good day for us to contemplate the cross, the suffering, the eternal offering of Jesus. Not speeding by, preparing for Easter, but sitting with our own sin and reflection on the once for all sacrifice of Jesus. It is holy work to sit with the dead and dying. May we do good, holy work today so our hearts my be renewed with new love and compassion.

                                                A Litany for Good Friday

Beloved Savior, you suffered human rejection

and the worst torture your captors could mete out

doing this all for the love of us, despite our great sin.

Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

You invite us to gather around the cross here today

seeing the pain and suffering we still do inflict

and call us to ease the pain and suffering around us.

Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

We refuse to look on the damage we have caused

by our selfishness and by pretending it is not our problem

others are imprisoned, tortured and put to death still.

Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

We want to run from any pain or any sorrow

you offered yourself for all, unworthy as we are.

Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

We do not contemplate our actions but defend them

and never admit when we have been terribly wrong.

Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.

Jesus, help us to dwell with you in life's sorrows

so we might know a true Easter bathed in your love.

Jesus, son of God, have mercy on me a sinner. Amen.

Maundy Thursday

After Jesus had spoken these words, he looked up to heaven and said, ‘Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all people, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. ‘I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you; for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them. And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one. John 17:1-11

This is the day we remember the Last Supper and arrest of Jesus. We remember how his disciples were fading and falling asleep with full bellies and too much wine. They could not stay awake despite the fact that the most dramatic and essential moments of our faith were upon them. Jesus had told them, over and over, but they really didn't expect it would happen to them or how he predicted. Maybe they thought he was being dramatic, over-sensitive, and emotional. We are often like this, we humans, we don't listen to the pain and reality of others, we fade away and lose focus. We are invited today to hear that we belong to Jesus, in pain and sorrow, in joy and resurrection, in the hard and glorious times ahead.

Wondrous Creator, sacred mystery and life source

we take for granted the sun and the wind you send

the beautiful signs and promise of new life ahead

and miss your call to draw near and listen well.

We fill our bellies and drink our fill and ignore

the cries of our world which is in great pain

we cover our eyes and ears to the suffering around

and pretend like we are not part of a sacred whole.

Help us Lord to hear and see the pain around us

help us mend the sacred hoop and see our part

make us members of one holy and interwoven family

so we remember we are knitted together with Jesus in your heart. Amen.

My Soul is Troubled

‘Now my soul is troubled. And what should I say—“Father, save me from this hour”? No, it is for this reason that I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.’ Then a voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’ The crowd standing there heard it and said that it was thunder. Others said, ‘An angel has spoken to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. Now is the judgement of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.’ He said this to indicate the kind of death he was to die. The crowd answered him, ‘We have heard from the law that the Messiah remains for ever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?’ Jesus said to them, ‘The light is with you for a little longer. Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you are going. While you have the light, believe in the light, so that you may become children of light.’ After Jesus had said this, he departed and hid from them. John 12:27-36

Living life means having troubles and sometimes we are troubled to our core. Smack dab in the middle of Holy Week, we hear Jesus confessing to wanting to be saved from the hour to come. A very human and honest Savior, who knows the troubles of our human flesh. Despite the voice from heaven the crowd is wowed by, I am always wowed by the small vulnerable voice of Jesus in this moment. He recommends us all to walk in the light while we have it and not let the darkness of these days overtake us. A good reminder for us all today as the darkness tries to overshadow us.

Loving Creator, who make the sun to rise up

and the small seeds to break through the rough earth

bringing new life in the days of deep and lasting sorrow

and giving all creation new light and new direction.

We find ourselves raging at today's dark deeds

sinking deeper into the profound sadness here

we want to move to violence and selfishness

yet even know you call us to walk in the light.

Let us walk in the light children, despite it all

Lord, make us see you calling us beyond these days

moving us through this dangerous holy week together

so we might know new life with you now and always. Amen.