The first reading today mentions a gathering on Solomon’s porch. I love porches. Porches are where I sit to smoke pipes and drink dark beer with friends. This line, perhaps poorly translated and insignificant, struck me. Porches and friendship go hand in hand. I chose to write today’s Dark Devotional because this weekend is significant for me. It is the shared birthday of two of my closest friends. It is also the fourth anniversary of Joseph’s death... Read more
As a kid, I spent a lot of time inside museums. My sisters and I grew up outside DC, and on the weekends my dad would take us to the Smithsonian museums so that my mom could get on with the class preparation and grading that went along with being a teacher. It was a great way to spend the weekends. Being kids, we mostly liked the dinosaurs in the Natural History Museum, but we were familiar enough with... Read more
John 18:1 to 19:42 The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to John Jesus. Now and at the hour of his death, what has changed? What is new for me as his disciple? What am I to do? From his cross he told me only one thing: “Behold, your mother.” Then, as the Gospel says: “from that hour the disciple took her into his home.” What is it to have her in my home and my... Read more
I’m listening carefully to the Psalm this weekend, wondering if I can respond to it with any authenticity. In Psalm 126, we hear When the Lord brought back the captives of Zion, we were like men dreaming. Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with rejoicing. We believe this is possible, right? To be brought back, rescued by the Lord from our own folly, to once again rejoice. Every night I go to... Read more
I had a profound fear as a child that I would be found wanting, and be cut down, shunned, and removed from the society of the people I loved. That fear resurfaces its ugly head in the Gospel this weekend: “For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down. Why should it exhaust the soil?” Having grown to better understand my value... Read more
This Sunday’s Gospel reading is the Parable of the Prodigal Son. Several years ago, the pastor of a small ELCA church preached on this parable as I sat in the back and called on all my powers of invisibility. It was only my second visit, and I wasn’t sure what to think of this pastor and her congregation. The pastor asked us which person from the parable we most identified with, and it stumped me. I should identify strongly... Read more
I like digging holes, hiding things inside them. When I grow old I hope I won’t forget to find them. I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground. I used to think I was Irish, but that was stripped away when I was an adult. A relative did some digging through documents and on ancestry.com. It turned out that what we thought was Irish ancestry, wasn’t. As a kid my Irish heritage had been celebrated... Read more
“Father, will you listen to me? Are you still there? Will you listen to a selfish, unfaithful son? I fought you when you called, I resisted! I thought of no more. I didn’t want to be your son! Can you forgive me? I didn’t fight hard enough.” ~ Jesus in The Last Temptation of Christ, by Nikos Kazantzakis. This time of year, we sometimes hear about Nikos Kazantzakis’s controversial novel, The Last Temptation of Christ, or more commonly,... Read more
In the second reading, Paul writes to the Corinthians, “Death is swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”. I like that, where, O death, is your sting? And I can see Paul rising up on his feet, his voice growing louder. With the readings this Sunday, we conclude Ordinary Time, and await Ash Wednesday and the penitential season of Lent. But Paul’s words send me back to Advent, reminding... Read more
Tell me, in a world without pity Do you think what I’m askin’s too much I just want something to hold on to And a little of that Human Touch –Bruce Springsteen Some days it goes like this: Cassidy calls her mom, so casually. Calls her because she feels like calling her. Because she has a question. Because she’s worried about her. Because she wants to say hello. Because she can. “Hi mom!” she says. “Hi mom!” I call out from... Read more
Sick Pilgrim
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In