Paul Simon once wrote that “the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls.” I know this to be true. Sometimes divine guidance comes where you least expect it, from the marginalized, forgotten, and overlooked, from people whom you would never expect to be sources of wisdom and insight. God’s inspiration is broadcast far and wide. The obvious purveyors of divinity may be least likely places where God chooses to share a word of grace.... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost – October 28, 2018 Job 42:1-6, 10-17 Psalm 34:1-8 Hebrews 7:23-28 Mark 10:36-42 This week we conclude our journey with Job. We have covered a lot of ground over the past few weeks: there is a debate in heaven, God gets hot under the collar when Ha’ satan challenges Job’s piety and lets the divine district attorney take everything from Job, Job suffers a theological crisis, challenges an apparently arbitrary and... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – Pentecost 22 – October 21, 2018 Job 38:1-7, 34-41 Psalm 104: 1-9, 24, 35c Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45 The saga of Job continues with a meditation on the grandeur of God. Job has endured losing everything that had brought joy to his life – privilege, wealth, family, social standing, and even respect. He and his wife face an uncertain future, bereft of any social or material support. He is accused of hidden sins by his friends;... Read more

“Shift Happens: Finding God in Suffering” Job 1:1, 2:1-10, Job 23:1-9, 16-17 John 9:1-12 In my home state California, after an earthquake, the old-timers often say “shift happens” to comfort – or tease – frightened newcomers to the state. Everything seems stable until the tectonic plates shift, and your life is turned upside down. “Shift happens” is an apt description happens to the legendary Job, the man who loses everything in the space of a few days. The Book of... Read more

You are a Mystic! Genesis 28:10-17 For the last several years, I have taught a seminar at our church, titled “A Month with a Mystic.” We study mystics from around the world – from Mother Teresa to Dag Hammarskjold to the Celtic spiritual guides and Native American visionaries. Oftentimes, participants protest, “These people are so different than I am. I don’t have visions, I can barely pray, and if I try to meditate, my mind wanders in the first fifteen... Read more

In the era of Trump, many people are in search of macaroni and cheese for the spirit. People are in search for a kinder, more civil time, in which the better angels of our nature can find appropriate soul food. Many of us need to believe, in a time when we are dwarf by political chaos and the impact of social issues (global climate change, privilege, political dysfunctionality) that appear beyond our control, that small actions can make a big... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Twenty-first Sunday after Pentecost – October 14, 2018 Job 23:1-9, 16-17 Psalm 22:1-15 Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31 Today’s scriptures focus on the absence and presence of God. Good theology joins both the apophatic and the kataphatic approaches to knowing God. God is beyond our imagining and cannot be limited by our scriptures, ecclesiologies, rituals, or doctrines. God is within all things, constantly providing us with insights and inspirations that from the basis of these same... Read more

In the Footsteps of St. Francis and St. Clare: Taking the First Steps On my way to Logan Airport to meet a group of pilgrims headed for Assisi in mid-September, I noted a sign that announced, “After you die, you will meet God.” While I understand the billboard’s eternal warning, it reflects a partial and perhaps harmful theological perspective. Mystics often look toward eternity, but they also find God’s presence in the maelstrom of daily life. Time is a moving... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Twentieth Sunday of Pentecost – October 7, 2018 Job 1:1; 2:1-10 Psalm 26 Hebrews 1:1-4; 2:5-10 Mark 10:2-16 This week’s readings begin with a reflection on the prelude to the Book of Job, one of the greatest and most challenging descriptions of both God and the human condition. Accordingly, it is appropriate to focus on the reality of suffering, not only in terms of the theological problem of evil but the pain we experience, either... Read more

The Adventurous Lectionary – The Nineteenth Sunday after Pentecost – September 30, 2018 Esther 7:1-6, 9-10: 9:20-22 Psalm 124 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50 This week’s lectionary readings focus on healing. God heals in many ways and through diverse people. There is no one healing path or modality, nor does any particular religious or medical tradition have a monopoly on divine healing. God heals through prayer, but also Prozac, as my friend Dale Matthews says; through medication and meditation; and through... Read more