Jesus is here living into what had long been understood as the role of the prophet in Israel. The prophet was not to be someone bound to any lineage or program of training in the way that priests were. Instead, the prophet was someone chosen by God to communicate the ongoing work of God’s faithful relationship, the free and loving dynamic of God’s covenant.
Read MoreThis experience of a different tongue can also affect how we view our own language. To move between words, like moving between worlds, can alter ones perception of the options. We need this from time to time in order to renew our language and free it from the ossified expressions of the familiar. There is a need, as theologian John Milbank has put it, to make the word strange. Today we have a perfect opportunity for that work in our Gospel reading.
Read MoreIt’s important for the community of faith to gather and witness the initiation of its newest members in baptism, but the call that God places on the life of the baptized is unique to every human being. We alone can hear what God is calling us to do, who God is calling us to be. Being marked as God’s beloved is perhaps our most intimate encounter with the Spirit.
Read MoreSigns of wonder and hope. We need them in any season, but on days that could only be described as dreary, when the normal comforts of restaurants and coffee shops and the embodied closeness of friends is unavailable, we need them now more than ever. And if we look, wonder and hope are ready enough to find. Ours is no static world, no meaningless accident of cosmic forces. All that exists was born from the life of a God who made it all in love, a God who is endlessly fascinated and fascinating.
Read MoreThe Gospel of John takes us out of the specifics of the birth, which we’ve been reciting lately from Luke, and plants us in the beautiful illustration of its cosmic implications. No straightforward theological explanation could suffice for something as magnificent as the Incarnation — God made manifest among us. Only the graceful poetry of the Word of God could come close to capturing the impact of this Incarnation on all of creation.
Read MoreIf you could use some Christmas words tonight, take as many as you need. Our strange new vocabulary of 2020 could certainly use them. Christmas has the best ones - behold, good tidings, glory, savior, joy. There’s plenty to go around. And remember that Christmas words have always been spoken in uncertain times, whether on that first holy night in Bethlehem or now. It’s in that kind of uncertainty that Christmas words are the most powerful.
Read MoreSo this Christmas season, to which we now turn, when so much is unsettled and nothing seems normal, let us lean into the strangeness. Now is our chance to leave behind the sentimentalities that have insulated us from accepting the radical gift of the Incarnation; now is the time to embrace the unexpected wonder of the new world God is making. Let us leave behind Mary of the soft glow and look instead to the bold teenager who challenged the world with the goodness of God’s justice.
Read MoreThe election is over and the deciding vote has been cast. It was bloody, the Opposition was strong, but it is clear, at least to most of us here, who the winner is. The problem is that though the election was some time back, there are many who still don’t accept the results. Some are hedging their bets; some are afraid of the Opposition. They don’t realize that the only power he has is the power they give him. The Opposition’s power can’t create or make or do anything, in the end. It can only destroy, undo and unravel. Still, he is noisy. Even if powerless, he can make himself seen. It’s easy to get distracted in all the busy hubbub he weaves.
Read MoreThe master praises two slaves for doing well in an exploitative system, which ultimately makes him richer. Does that sound like the Jesus you know?
Read MoreWe are in a pivotal moment in our life together as a faith community. For some of us it is a moment of immense joy, relief, and celebration, while for others it is full of frustration, disappointment, and fear. However you find yourself feeling here at the end this crazy, stressful week, your Christ Church family is with you in prayer.
Read MoreWe sometimes worry about finding our way to God, or worse, wether we’ll be worthy to enter the heavenly dwelling places once we do. This is where Joe’s good life can guide us. He knew the way because he paid attention and loved the details God placed on the path in front of him
Read MoreIn the hills of East Oakland there is a 500 year-old redwood that has survived the Spanish conquistadors, the Gold Rush, earthquakes and storms, the booms and busts of a world always hungry for resources. The tree is the only old growth redwood in the city and its is something of a miracle that it is still alive. Locals call it, “Old Survivor.” The tree is located on a steep rocky slope and the trunk is twisted, misshapen by the standards of timber mills. And so it has stayed, marginal and strangely formed, witnessing a world in flux as a rooted grace, contrasting with the vagaries of human ambition. “Old Survivor still stands,” wrote a pair of Oakland residents, “as a sentinel to remind us to make our choices wisely.”
Read MoreIt seems to me that heaven is not only a future hope but also an earthly one. Blessedness in Hebrew has the sense of being on the right path. Jesus invites us onto a path that points toward heaven, a path full of peace, healing, righteousness, comfort, and mercy. This is especially poignant for a quieter All Saints’ in 2020.
Read MoreEven in hospice care, Louise was doing cheers with the chaplain, also a Central High Tiger. “Hail to the old gold, hail to the black,” they would sing, much to Louise’s delight. A cheer could always point her in the right direction, even at the end of life. She was a natural cheerleader back in the day. It suited her personality to a tee. That kind of natural enthusiasm is a gift, which Louise used well throughout her long life. She could flash that smile of hers and make anyone feel welcome. And it was contagious.
Read MoreIn planting oaks, storing acorns across the forest floor, these creatures are, from a theological view, giving glory to God. This glory stems in part from their obedience to God, for they are fulfilling their purpose, they are doing what they were created for. In reflecting on the question of obedience and disobedience, the monastic writer Thomas Merton once wrote: “A tree gives glory to God by being a tree. For in being what God means for it to be is obeying Him.” Squirrels and jays are obedient to God by living into the fullness of their nature and answering its call. They work toward the future, but do not think about it. They simply do the work of the season, living the lives that they were given.
Read MoreIn today’s passage from Exodus, God tells Moses that an angel, or messenger, will accompany the Israelites on their journey. To twenty-first Century Christians familiar with the Holy Spirit, this sounds like the ultimate comfort. To the Israelites, it sounded like abandonment. They did not yet understand their God as one who could transcend time and space, and they were not interested in a long-distance relationship.
Read MoreI have the dubious honor of welcoming you to what is quite possibly the worst parable in the Bible, the king’s ominous wedding banquet. It’s the story of a disastrous party, hosted by a murderous king who rages, and attended by a poor guy who gets tied up and thrown out into the street. Really great material for a sermon, said no preacher ever. But I promise we can find some light shining in the story, and it might be just what we need these days.
Read MoreI recently found myself on TheKnot.com’s list of the greatest love songs of all time. Like many such lists, its contents are easily contended, but I was surprised to find that even with my limited knowledge of pop, there were plenty of tunes I could easily hum. First was Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes,” followed shortly after by “Time After Time” by Cindy Lauper. Celine Dion was the only artist with two songs in the top ten with her “The Power of Love” and “My Heart Will Go On,” the theme song to the movie Titanic. And of course songs by Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Elton John and Whitney Houston all had their representation along with some more surprising picks further down the list by bands such as the Foo Fighters and Radiohead.
Read MoreSo here’s to a new week of watching electoral politics, catching up on the news of a troubled world, wearing masks, and zooming through more meetings. In all of our endeavors during this strange time, let’s be mindful of the earthly authorities that demand our allegiance and make more room for the authority of Christ in our lives.
Read MoreTrusting that God will solve all of our problems in mystical ways is not the kind of faith that God asks of us. God did not promise the Israelites that they would never have to think about food again. God simply took away the hunger they felt right then, allowing them to rest and enjoy their Sabbath. Thus, the critical mistake came not in caring about their future, but in letting that worry destroy their Sabbath.
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