It is one of the less celebrated days of Holy Week, just like every week: Tuesday, the day oft relegated to leftovers and drudgery. While the timeline of the Gospels is a little fuzzy, traditional monastic liturgy places Jesus' visit to the Temple (at least his visit in the synoptic Gospels) squarely on the wholly … Continue reading On this Table-Flipping Tuesday
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A S’vach Holy Week
One of the few bright spots about being a pastor during this social-distancing reality is that I have the opportunity to see my colleagues' work. Certainly, many congregations (including mine) have been creating web content for years, but now, with such an emphasis on online worship, and quite a bit more time at home, I … Continue reading A S’vach Holy Week
Light of the same star
Just three months ago, on the day of Epiphany, I received my Star Word. It was just a little piece of paper, lovingly cut into the shape of a star. There were more than a hundred of them laying facedown on a small table at the front of the sanctuary. Each of them had word … Continue reading Light of the same star
More than getting through this
After this is all over, if all I can say is, 'I got through this,' it will be a waste, a colleague said when we were talking on the phone a week and a half ago. During our conversation, I was out with our dog; a dog who has never once in her life been … Continue reading More than getting through this
On an anniversary
I'm surprised how much it's bothering me, a woman told me after worship. But I guess I don't need to tell you that. She had been leaving church in a hustle, and tried to offer me a quick apology for how she had cried throughout worship. I let the apology pass. Even I - who … Continue reading On an anniversary
Turning back
How did I get here? It happens every so often. The wheels beneath me seem to move on their own, and I arrive in my car (or on my bike) at some unexpected location. I don't recall the moment I turned off course. I only realize what has happened when I find myself where I … Continue reading Turning back
dis/integration
Either things are coming together, or else they're falling apart... Or so says poet Peter Cole in "Song of Shattering Vessels". He suggests that nothing remains stagnant, and that we are always at the beginning or the end of something. Over the years, I come back to this poem (or it comes to me) again … Continue reading dis/integration
Kobe and Rush, and truth and worthiness
Full disclosure: I have no real connection with either of these men. My appreciation for basketball has been a very recent phenomenon (so recent that its genesis is post-Kobe), and I have never (not once) tuned in to listen to conservative talk radio. Also, I am swimming in the same news cycle as everyone else. … Continue reading Kobe and Rush, and truth and worthiness
Made in Our Image
Every time I return to the beginning - to the "in the beginning" of Genesis 1 - I am surprised to find these words in verse 19: "Let us make humankind in our image." God's name may be "I am", but God's pronoun is "We are." It seemed all too fitting for preaching on an … Continue reading Made in Our Image
Future fires
Several nights in the last week, I've dreamt of fire. It was a return to childhood nightmares, except now they are populated with koalas and kangaroos, and undergirded with the grieved awareness that there are more fires to come. There was a time that Santa Rosa, CA was synonymous with the largest fire. Then, an … Continue reading Future fires
