“Give thanks to the Lord, for the Lord is good, and the Lord’s mercy endures for ever (Psalm 107:1).” Dear Friends, The opening verse of this week’s psalm suggests that gratitude is really the only response to God’s inherent goodness and mercy which is unending.  The past few weeks I have had the blessing of […]

“…whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave; just as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:207-28).. Dear Friends, Monday this week, most of […]

Jesus entered a certain village, where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home (Luke 10:38). Dear Friends, Here, at the end of Chapter 10 in Luke’s Gospel, Jesus enters a village and approaches a home. This chapter begins with Jesus sending out seventy (or seventy-two) in pairs, with no purse, no bag, no […]

Wanting to justify himself, the Lawyer asked Jesus… (Luke 10:29) Dear Friends, From Sunday’s reading in Luke’s Gospel, I found myself pondering justification. I was not concerned with Priests, Levites, or even Samaritans (good or otherwise).  My mind did not turn to the poor man in the ditch half-dead, or of the robbers who jumped […]

Therefore my heart sings to you without ceasing; O Lord my God, I will give you thanks for ever. (Psalm 30:13) Dear Friends, We are sliding down the backside of Hump Day. Thinking about this last line in this pslam of praise from Sunday, I thought of a poem by Mary Oliver and invite you to […]

Protect me, O God, for I take refuge in you; I have said to the LORD, “You are my Lord, my good above all other.” (Psalm 16:1) Dear Friends, Generally, we Episcopalians do not spend a lot of time with the psalms, this beautiful and lyrical collection of poetry.  In his book, Praying the Psalms, […]

“I beg you, do not….” “They begged him not….” “…the demons begged Jesus to….” “The man… begged that he might be with….” (excerpts from Luke 8:26-39).” Dear Friends, The Gospel reading from Luke just a few days ago is deeply layered. It is a healing story that is in each of the Synoptic Gospels (Mark, Matthew, […]

“ 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. (John 16:13).” Dear Friends,  This past Sunday was Trinity Sunday. Did you know that Trinity Sunday is […]

” All were amazed and perplexed, saying to one another, “What does this mean?” But others sneered and said, “They are filled with new wine (Acts 2:12-13).” Dear Friends, Just a few days ago was the Day of Pentecost, one of the seven feast days of the Church (check them out in the Book of Common Prayer (BCP), p. […]

Dear Friends, Sometimes time it helps to pause, notice, and give thanks. We are coming to the end of Eastertide this Sunday with the celebration of Pentecost on the 50th day of Easter. My first Sunday with you was the Last Sunday after the Epiphany. Today, we have been together for 100 days which included Lent and Eastertide. What a lovely […]