All…, Proper 25 (A) – 2008

October 26, 2008

“All.” It is such a little word, only three letters: “all.” Not some, not a portion, not a little bit, not most of, but all. It encompasses everything, everyone, no exceptions, no limits. All. We call it the Great Commandment or the Summary of the Law: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all […]

Seeking, Searching, Joseph Went…, Proper 14 (A) – 2008

August 10, 2008

“And Joseph went looking for his brothers.” Seeking, searching, Joseph went looking for his brothers. In today’s reading from Genesis, the meaning in Hebrew of Jacob’s command to Joseph is, “See how your brothers are,” with the meaning of “Seek the peacefulness and integrity of your brothers.” Joseph’s search for his brothers, God’s search for […]

Thursday Was the Feast…, Easter 7 (A) – 2008

May 04, 2008

Thursday was the Feast of the Ascension. Alas, because so few of us attend weekday feasts, most parishes celebrate the Ascension on this Sunday following the feast. Because we celebrate the major feasts of the church with hindsight and developed reflection, we miss the intense emotions that those events caused for the ones who initially […]

Eddie Was the Extrovert…, Lent 4 (A) – 2008

March 02, 2008

Eddie was the extrovert in the community for the disabled in the assisted living unit. He always plunked himself down right in the middle of where the action was – in a chair by the mailboxes, at the entrance to the dining room, or right in front of the TV in the sitting room. He […]

At First the Readings…, Last Sunday in Epiphany (A) – 1999

February 14, 1999

At first, the readings of the text for the Transfiguration seem a strange choice for a Sunday in Epiphany. Yet Epiphany means the manifestation or the showing of God. When God is revealed in our lives, it is earth-shattering, paradigm-scattering, transforming. The verb for the Transfiguration is like our, word metamorphose – to be changed. […]

Her Name Was Edna…, Proper 23 (C) – 1998

October 11, 1998

“Then one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, praising God with a loud voice.” Her name was Edna Miller and she was about as plain as her name implied except when she was inside the walls of a classroom with chalk in hand. She stood barely five-foot tall yet could […]