I must confess that the Fourth of July is one of my favorite holidays. From my childhood, I have loved parades, outdoor grills, and fireworks. I never miss watching the Fourth of July Concert on the Capitol Mall on PBS. I love the marching bands and music of the day – “The Star Spangled Banner,” “God Bless America,” “America the Beautiful,” and anything by John Philip Souza. I’m a small town boy at heart, and remember bicycle parades and homemade... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary -The Fourth Sunday in Pentecost – July 3, 2022 2 Kings 5:1-14 Psalm 30 Galatians 6:7-16 Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 As I write these words, I have just heard the news that the Supreme Court has struck down Roe v. Wade. This is a tragic day for the United States, following another sad day in which the Supreme Court struck down New York gun laws. I am angry, but as Harry Emerson Fosdick says, “save us from weak... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday of Pentecost – June 26, 2022 During the Pentecost season, mysticism inspires mission. God is real, speaks to us, shapes our experiences, and invites us to join in unity with all creation. Even when God appears absent, we call out to God, knowing beneath the shadows, there is light. Pentecost invites progressives and mainstream Christians to join analysis and rationality with mysticism and poetry. To look beyond the appearances of persons and things... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Second Sunday after Pentecost – June 19, 2022 I Kings 19:1-15a Psalm 22:19-28 Galatians 3:23-29 Luke 8:26-39 The great religious traditions begin with mystical experiences, and are sustained through an ongoing commitment to spiritual practices. Persons encounter God and then are given a mission. Encounters with God challenge us to action. Mysticism inspire mission, and the confrontation with injustice. The Old Testament/Hebraic and Gospel readings introduce us to the paranormal. Fleeing the wrath of Queen... Read more
Trinity Sunday – June 12, 2022 Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15 Following the radical amazement inspired by Pentecost, we move from the Spirit to the celebration of God in all God’s wondrous diversity and presence. God is the transformative one and many, that gives life, inspires, and saves all creation. God is one: Christianity is a monotheistic religion. In fact, most progressive Christians and process theologians focus on the wholeness of God, and minimize the Spirit... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost Sunday – June 9, 2019 Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:24-34, 35b Romans 8:14-17 John 14:8-17 (25-27) Pentecost is a day of celebration. A day that transcends division and binary thinking. A day that affirms E Pluribus Unum, from many one, and challenges us to embrace the Spirit’s unity in a world of diversity, honoring both unity and plurality, and oneness without uniformity. A mighty wind has blown, fires descend, voices cry out, and ears hear the... Read more
This year, I feel grief and anger as we celebrate USA Memorial Day. I feel grief over two mass shootings, fully preventable, in the past two weeks; our nation’s gun lust that puts gun ownership ahead of the common good and the safety of children; and the idolatrous connection of God and guns in some religious communities. I will miss General Colin Powell at the PBS Memorial Day Concert. Lest you challenge my patriotism and love of nation, I was... Read more
The Ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:6-11) is one of the most mysterious and enigmatic days of the Christian year. To be frank, it’s a day that most progressive and mainstream Christians would just as soon jettison along with literal embodied understandings of the resurrection. It also receives little interest among conservative and evangelical Christians, beyond the judgment that because it is in the Bible, it must have occurred as described. Most churches observe Ascension Day by omission, since it raises... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Seventh Sunday of Easter – May 29, 2022 Acts 16:16-34 Psalm 97 Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21 John 17:20-26 Christian spirituality is, in its essence, surprising and countercultural. It is also mystical nature, opening us to deeper experiences of the Holy, from which we receive our life mission. Christian spirituality challenges our self-imposed limitations and transcends any orthodoxy or behavioral expectation in its quest to be faithful to the “sacrament of the present moment.” (Pierre de... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Sixth Sunday of Easter – May 22, 2022 Acts 16:9-15; Psalm 67; Revelation 21:10,22-22:5; John 14:23-29 God is omni-active and omni-revelational. Like Elvis, God shows up everywhere and when God shows up, your world is transformed and you are invited to journey into new horizons of possibility. In this Easter season, we proclaim that, Christ the Lord is risen TODAY, and everyday. God’s amnipotent love, as Thomas Oord avers, gives birth to each moment and each... Read more
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