As a number of writers have pointed out, in the Book of Jonah, the Ninevehites repent but Jonah does not. Even though word of God comes to him three times. God asks Jonah to see the world differently. Jonah refuses. What about us? We've started a weekly parish Evensong at the Cathedral. When we preach at the service, there's more time to fully develop an idea. In this particular sermon, in the first part, as […]
Any close read of the parable of the wedding guest who is thrown into eternal torment for not wearing the right clothing when he is brought into the wedding feast should make us nervous. It's made any number of readers nervous over the ages. But it's not that we need to be nervous because we need to have the right clothes for all occasions, it's because it seems to paint a picture of a God […]
Doing the Dad thing this morning, having the pancake breakfast and getting ready to go to a mock class.
According to gaming theory, any economic activity where both parties fully understand what is happening is a non-zero-sum game. We forget that a lot. We tend to think that buying and selling is a cut throat competition. Which it is if you’re not being honest with each other. But if you are, you both win when you buy or sell something. Think about that. The key is being honest and transparent. The Kingdom of Heaven, […]
The story of 9/11 is still being written. And we still don’t know what God is going to weave out of this mess. Perhaps it’s just a coincidence that the Old Testament lesson for today is the story of Joseph’s reconciliation with his brothers who sold him into slavery. It contains one of my favorite verses of the Bible: “You meant this for evil, but God has turned it to good…” Joseph’s story lets us […]
The tears in the dark have not been for nought. The Universe, the cold dark vastness of Creation; the sparkling sky; the deep cataracts of the Earth have heard your cry for Justice! Easter is God’s response. MP3 File
In Sunday's Gospel reading, there's an unexpected detail that we sometimes miss because of the length of the reading. Jesus is told that the person he loves is very sick, and that he should come to help him. Jesus doesn't. He waits until he knows that Lazarus is dead. Why does he wait? He heals other people from afar. If he can't travel to Lazarus immediately, why doesn't he heal him like he does the […]
Why is it so hard for a religious leader to imagine that one can not get to God's full presence by doing more of what has gotten one to the prestigious position one holds? It's probably because Jesus is telling us that unless we recognize that we must abandon all our preconceptions as we draw close to God, we are going to constantly fail to grow in the ways that God wants us to grow. […]
One of the great gifts of my year has been the experience I've had teaching a class about the Old Testament to the leaders of the Sudanese American community here in Phoenix. These are a people who know what it is to fast, to suffer because of other people's anger and hatred. It was in helping them think through why God insists so strongly that we obey the Law that I worked my own way […]
This past week we have seen at least two governments fall in the Middle East to crowds of non-violent demonstrators. We are also witnessing the outbreak of what might become a full blown civil war in Libya. And there are sit-ins and demonstrations occurring at state capitals around the northern midwest this weekend. Jesus' words to his disciples and his admonition that we can only bring about the Reign of God through non-violent means has […]
