Can you be both a mystic and a social activist? Can you hold a progressive, activist, theology, and be a contemplative? Can you be both heavenly minded and earthly good? Can we march for civil rights and affirm with Abraham Joshua Heschel that our legs are praying? Today as we remember Martin Luther King, let us affirm the wisdom of one of his spiritual mentors Howard Thurman. King and Thurman were mystic activists whose faith motivated their prophetic actions. The... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The Third Sunday after the Epiphany – January 26, 2020 Bruce G. Epperly Isaiah 9:1-4 ; Psalm 27:1, 4-9; I Corinthians 1:10-18; Matthew 4:12-23 Today’s readings capture the spirit of the magi, non-Jews who experience God’s revelation when the rightful religious leaders are oblivious. Foreigners and strangers who worship God, while remaining true to their own faith and ethnicity. Following the star, taking a chance on a dream, they find Jesus. Their lives become their gifts.... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Second Sunday after the Epiphany – January 19, 2020 Isaiah 49:1-7; Psalm 41:1-11; I Corinthians 1:1-9; John 1:29-42 The Second Sunday of Epiphany focuses on the nature of call. Life is a call and response in which God speaks to us in our gifts and in the events of our lives, and we respond, embodying God’s call in our own unique way. Our call is for us and our fulfillment. It is also for the world... Read more
The Baptism of Jesus – January 12, 2020 Isaiah 42:1-9; Psalm 29; Acts 10:34-43; Matthew 3:13-17 Today’s lectionary lens is the Baptism of Jesus. An adult baptism in which Jesus’ unique relationship with God is revealed. Jesus is God’s beloved child, uniquely called to be God’s messenger to the world. As Cape Cod pastor, I affirm that it’s all about water: flowing Jordan waters, waves on Cape Cod shores, the water of the womb, the waters that nourish our crops... Read more
Just a few days after the celebration of Christmas, the light of Bethlehem is eclipsed and the dark shadows of life return to the stories of young Jesus. Tucked between Christmas Day and the Feast of Epiphany (January 6), the Massacre of Infants or Slaughter of Innocents is remembered. In the Roman Catholic, Lutheran, Episcopalian and other Protestant traditions, this tragic moment in the biblical story is recalled on December 28; the Eastern Orthodox tradition sets aside December 29 as... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – Epiphany Sunday – January 5, 2020 Isaiah 60:1-6, Psalm72:1-7, 10-14; Ephesians 3:1-4, Matthew 2:1-12 and John 1:10-18 Preachers on January 5 have two options, theologically and scripturally. On the one hand, they can use the assigned readings for the Second Sunday of Christmas. On the other hand, congregations, like my own, will be celebrating the Feast of Epiphany. While one can focus on the Johannine contrast of light and darkness and God’s power to transform our... Read more
I never knew what became of them. Every year scores of people come to our church seeking help in responding to needs of body, mind, and spirit. And we try to respond with grace and generosity. But this couple was unique. It was two days before Christmas and they showed up in a battered car that they had been sleeping in since being evicted from their apartment the week before. They had a history, like so many who come for... Read more
On the eve of the shortest day of the year, when darkness envelopes the earth, we await the coming light and affirm that within the womb of darkness, light emerges, and growth occurs, often when we least expect it. Sometimes, in the midst of grief, when we are in the depths of loss and depression, the light seems faraway, impossible to find again. Out of the depths, we cry and sometimes all we hear is our own voice. And yet,... Read more
“Joy to the World” – A Christmas Eve Meditation Christmas isn’t always easy for the children in our midst. This year some will celebrate Christmas separated from their parents and incarcerated on the USA borderlands. Others, such as the descendants of one of the first Christian communities, have fled Syria and are now in refugee camps. Still others grief the loss of a parent or miss a parent stationed overseas. It had been a difficult year for the little boy.... Read more
The Adventurous Lectionary – The First Sunday of Christmas – December 29, 2019 Isaiah 63:7-9; Psalm 148; Hebrews 2:10-18; Matthew 2:13-23. Today’s readings are both painful and hopeful. They describe the contrast between the fidelity of God and the evil intentions of those in political power. Yet, the evils human plan are penultimate and will not last; God’s vision is present in threat and tragedy, giving us hope for deliverance. Today’s scriptures note that the Infinite is also intimate. God’s... Read more
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