As long-time readers of this blog know, I have a great devotion to the Virgin Mary. Raised as a Lutheran, I didn’t discover her until I was an adult, and even then it felt for a long time like there was something a little illicit in my fondness for her. Theologically speaking, she was from the wrong side of the tracks. Thankfully I’ve left those prejudices behind, in part because Episcopalians are happy to welcome the Virgin Mary to the... Read more
Today I return again to Angeles Arrien’s book Living in Gratitude (if you recall, I’m reading a chapter a month throughout this year). In April, Arrien recommends focusing on mercy and atonement. The latter is one of those loaded theological words that tend to make people break out in hives. But just because atonement makes us uncomfortable doesn’t mean there isn’t a truth lodged within it. Atonement and its twin of repentence are part of the yin-yang of existence, a way... Read more
On the Via Dolorosa in Jerusalem (Lori Erickson photo) Today I’m posting a sermon I gave on Sunday in my home church–a bit longer than the usual Holy Rover fare, but I hope it might strike some chords for those of you on a Lenten path. (And if you’re interested in seeing the Griefwalker documentary I refer to, you can view it by clicking on the link). I’ve been fortunate to travel to many interesting places for my work, but in January... Read more
Today we have the final installment of Bob’s reflections on the Gospel of Thomas: The final metaphor from the Gospel of Thomas that I want to try to make sense of is his distinction between ordinary light and the divine light from within that comes from creation before the Fall. In saying 37 we hear this: “His disciples asked him: When will you appear to us? When will we see you? Jesus replied: When you strip naked without shame and... Read more
Today we have Part 4 of Bob’s reflections on the Gospel of Thomas: Let me remind you of the passage I quoted yesterday from the Gospel of Thomas: “Jesus saw infants being suckled. He said to his disciples: These infants taking milk are like those who enter the Kingdom. His disciples asked him: If we are infants will we enter the Kingdom? Jesus responded: When you make the two into one, and when you make the inside like the outside... Read more
Today we have Part 3 of Bob’s reflections on the Gospel of Thomas: Being “born again” is a popular term in some Christian denominations, but it is generally not so popular among many mainline Christians. In the Gospel of Thomas I learned of a new way of understanding this phrase, one that is quite radical and subversive. In saying 3 Jesus says, “If your leaders say to you, ‘Look! The Kingdom is in the sky!’ Then the birds will be... Read more
Today we have Part 2 of Bob’s reflections on the Gospel of Thomas: One of my great frustrations with most sermons, writings, and Christian texts is how often they refer to the Kingdom without ever defining what that term means. This is especially frustrating because this place or state of being is a fundamental doctrine of the Christian faith. We are told nearly ad nauseum that the Kingdom is coming, what we should do to get prepared for it and... Read more
This week my husband Bob takes over The Holy Rover, posting a series of reflections on the Gospel of Thomas, one of the non-canonical gospels discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in 1945: I’ve been studying the Gospel of Thomas for Lent. This exercise has turned out to be far more demanding, but also far more rewarding, than I had anticipated. When I talked to Lori about what I was reading, she suggested I tell you about it as well. I... Read more
Today’s post is my monthly column for the Episcopal News Service. You might recognize this as a distillation of some of my earlier reflections on Jerusalem: As I make my way through the season of Lent again this year, my thoughts return to a visit I made to Jerusalem in January. If I close my eyes I can summon in an instant the twisting labyrinth of streets in the Old City, its narrow thoroughfares crowded with orthodox Jews, robed Muslims,... Read more
Several weeks ago I recommended Eric Weiner’s Man Seeks God: My Flirtations with the Divine. Yesterday Mississippi Marian (a friend and devoted follower of this blog) sent me a link to Where Heaven and Earth Come Closer, a piece in the New York Times by Weiner that discusses one of my favorite concepts: thin places. Weiner writes: It is, admittedly, an odd term. One could be forgiven for thinking that thin places describe skinny nations (see Chile) or perhaps cities populated by thin... Read more
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