Dec 20, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Notice the miracles in the smallest of changes. December 20, 2021 Psalm 24, Isaiah 7:10-14; Luke 1:26-38 “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it.” Psalm 24 proclaims the majesty and wonder of God and all His creation. I most...
Dec 19, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Restore Us December 19, 2021 Micah 5:2-5a | Hebrews 10:5-10 | Luke 1:39-45 (46-55) |Canticle 15 (or 3) or Psalm 80:1-7 The birth of Christ brought a much-needed light into the world. Each year our collective Christmas tradition includes...
Dec 18, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Fall Down on Your Knees. Fall Down on Your Knees. December 18, 2021 Psalm 25:1-14 | Malachi 3:1-5 | Luke 1:57-66 I’m going off script — my apologies for not writing about today’s Advent readings. Because I want to share with you...
Dec 17, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Selah…Selah…Selah… Bask in God’s presence and love December 17, 2021 Psalm 67 | Isaiah 56:1-8 | John 5:33-36 Psalm 67 – Partial quote “May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah” “Let the nations...
Dec 16, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” December 16, 2021 Psalm 30 | Isaiah 54:1-10 | Luke 7:24-30 In the season of Avent, we begin our liturgical year and look forward to the coming joy of Christmas. We celebrate...
Dec 15, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 The Work of Christmas December 15, 2021 Psalm 85:8-13 | Isaiah 45:5-8(9-17)18-25 | Luke 7:9-23 I am the Lord, and there is no other; there is no God but Me. Isaiah 45: 5 These words are a continuing refrain in the 45th chapter of...
Dec 14, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Imagine a world without shame. December 14, 2021 Psalm 34:1-8 | Zephaniah 3:1-2, 9-13 | Matthew 21:28-32 Reading today’s Psalm, two sections jumped out at me. The first was line 5: “Look upon him and be radiant, and let not your faces be...
Dec 13, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 “You’re not the boss of me.” December 13, 2021 Psalm 25:3-8 | Numbers 24:2-7,15-17a | Matthew 21:23-27 When trying to find inspiration for this blog assignment I found these 3 lines that kept bugging me and I had to figure out why: And when...
Dec 12, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 “Is a puzzlement.” December 12, 2021 Zephaniah 3:14-20 | Philippians 4:4-7 | Luke 3:7-18 | Canticle 9 Usually I enjoy puzzles: word, number, logic, jigsaw, a good mystery. If I’m to be honest, I waste a lot of time solving them. But the...
Dec 11, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 “Happy are those who saw you and were adorned with your love!” December 11, 2021 Psalm 80:1-3,14-18, Sirach 48:1-11; Matthew 17:9-13 Well, gosh I want to be happy, I sure would like to be adorned with God’s love…how do I get me some of that?...
Dec 10, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 God will walk the path with you December 10, 2021 Isaiah 48:17-18 Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: I am the Lord your God, who teaches you for your own good, who leads you in the way you should go. The above words...
Dec 9, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Every one of us can be a Saint Nicholas December 9, 2021 Psalm 145:1-4,8-13, Isaiah 41:13-20; Matthew 11:7-15 Advent is the season during which we prepare for the coming of the Great King, the Holy One of Israel. And most of us are pretty...
Dec 8, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 I knew I was listened to, a sacred listening that required no actual words. December 8, 2021 Psalm 103:1-10 | Isaiah 40:25-31 | Matthew 11:28-30 Growing up, I was welcomed at the neighborhood Catholic church, or at least I felt I was,...
Dec 7, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Maybe you are a shepherd. December 7, 2021 Psalm 50:7-15 | Amos 5:18-24 | Matthew 18:12-14 Here’s a familiar passage that most of us have heard many times- the story of the Good Shepherd. I’d like to bring it into a modern setting. A teacher...
Dec 6, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 God is with us. December 6, 2021 Psalm 85:8-13 | Isaiah 35:1-10 | Luke 5:17-26 I am humbled by the scriptures for today. Each one is a description of how God made his presence known to his people. And what a perfect Advent message. Emmanuel,...
Dec 5, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Love is contagious. December 5, 2021 Baruch 5:1-9 | or Malachi 3:1-4 | Philippians 1:3-11 | Luke 3:1-6 | Canticle 4 or 16 Paul to the Philippians: And this is my prayer, that your love may overflow more and more with knowledge and full...
Dec 4, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 The goodness and majesty of God. December 4, 2021 Psalm 147:1-12 | Isaiah 30:19-21, 23-26 | Matthew 9:35 — 10:1,5-8 As a teenager I often felt that many Bible readings were harsh and frightening. However, over time, I discovered inspiring...
Dec 3, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 “The deaf hear…” “The blind see…” December 3, 2021 Psalm 27:1-6, 17-18 | Isaiah 29:17-24 | Matthew 9:27-31 I turned 70 this past summer. And I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this reality. I find myself worrying about my memory. What...
Dec 2, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Dad is my cornerstone. December 2, 2021 Psalm 118:19-24 | Isaiah 26:1-6 | Matthew 7:21-27 When I think about a cornerstone in my life, besides Christ, I would have to say that my Dad is my cornerstone. Dad was everything to me, and when he...
Dec 1, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Psalm 23 – A Psalm of David “The Lord is my shepherd…” December 1, 2021 Psalm 23 | Isaiah 25:6-9 | Matthew 15:29-39 I like to think of things in context, I also like to research interesting words and know what the definition is in the...
Nov 30, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 There is a sense of hopefulness while we wait. November 30, 2021 Psalm 72:1-8 | Isaiah 11:1-10 | Luke 10:21-24 I look forward to Advent. Without fail, every year, I am eager for Advent to begin. It might be my favorite time of year. I like...
Nov 29, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 Living into “The Present House of God” November 29, 2021 Psalm 122: Song of Praise and Prayer for Jerusalem;Isaiah 2:1-5: The Future House of God;Matthew 8:5-13: Jesus Heals a Centurion’s Servant As I have done for over 20 years, I stepped...
Nov 28, 2021 | Advent Blog 2021
Home > Advent Blog 2021 There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars… November 28, 2021 Jeremiah 33:14-16 | 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13 | Luke 21:25-36 | Psalm 25:1-9 It is the first Sunday in Advent. How are you feeling? This has been another year of...
Apr 4, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Experience the unimaginable April 4, 2021 Acts 10:34-43 or Isaiah 25:6-9 | 1 Corinthians 15:1-11 or Acts 10:34-43John 20:1-18 or Mark 16:1-8 | Psalm 118:1-2, 14-24 This is the Lord’s doing,and it is marvellous in our eyes.– (Psalm...
Apr 3, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 This Easter, a homecoming. April 3, 2021 This photo by unknown author is licensed under CC BY-SA Genesis 1:1-2:4a [The Story of Creation] | Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18, 9:8-13 [The Flood] | Genesis 22:1-18 [Abraham’s sacrifice of...
Apr 2, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Light through the Darkness April 2, 2021 Isaiah 52:13-53:12 |Hebrews 10:16-25 or Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9 | John 18:1-19:42 | Psalm 22 Growing up in an Irish/Catholic household, Good Friday was spent eating very little and being in church. I...
Apr 1, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 “You do not know now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” April 1, 2021 Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14 | 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 | John 13:1-17, 31b-35 | Psalm 116:1, 10-17 In reflecting on the story of Jesus washing his disciples’...
Mar 31, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 The good things are ahead. March 31, 2021 Isaiah 50:4-9a | Hebrews 12:1-3 | John 13:21-32 | Psalm 70 In a recent sermon Rev. Tanya mentioned that profound things often come from the children. It reminded me of a question that was asked in...
Mar 30, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Become children of light March 30, 2021 Isaiah 49:1-7 | 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 | John 12:20-36 | Psalm 71:1-14 “Walk while you have the light, so that the darkness may not overtake you. If you walk in the darkness, you do not know where you...
Mar 29, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Filled with hope and the light of Christ March 29, 2021 Isaiah 42:1-9 | Hebrews 9:11-15 | John 12:1-11 | Psalm 36:5-11 Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace. What...
Mar 28, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Two different worlds at once. March 28, 2021 Isaiah 50:4-9a | Philippians 2:5-11 | Mark 14:1-15:47 or Mark 15:1-39, [40-47] | Psalm 31:9-16 One of the most amazing and wondrous experiences of my life happened several years ago while hiking...
Mar 27, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 God, Diana Ross and Caiaphas on Finding Home March 27, 2021 Ezekiel 37:21–28 | John 11:45–53 | Psalm 85:1–7 I first read the selections of readings for Saturday, the Fifth Week of Lent, a couple of weeks back. While procrastinating the...
Mar 26, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 From jeremiad to joy March 26, 2021 Jeremiah 20:7-13 | John 10:31-42 | Psalm 18:1-7 How “down in the mouth” was Jeremiah, author of today’s first reading? So down, he inspired the modern word “jeremiad,” which means “a prolonged mournful...
Mar 25, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 I feel something new: hope. March 25, 2021 Br. Mickey McGrath, OSFS: “Annunciation Quilt” Isaiah 7:10-14 | Psalm 45 or Psalm 40:5-10 or Canticle 15 (or 3) | Hebrews 10:4-10 | Luke 1:26-38 Some years it feels strange and jarring to celebrate...
Mar 24, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Truth March 24, 2021 Daniel 3:14–20,24–28 | John 8:31–42 | Canticle [2] or 13 The first couple of lines from John 8:31-42 made me think about how often we are prisoners – slaves even – of our own beliefs. We even suffer for those beliefs and...
Mar 23, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 A Very Snaky Predicament March 23, 2021 Numbers 21:4–9 | John 8:21–30 | Psalm 102:15–22 Today’s Old Testament reading from the Book of Numbers recounts a scene from the Israelites 40-year journey through the wilderness following their...
Mar 22, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 On Forgiveness March 22, 2021 Susanna [1–9,15–29,34–40],41-62 | John 8:1–11 or John 8:12–20 | Psalm 23 When I read these scriptures about justice, what came immediately to mind was our study in Adult Formation of Chapter 1 of Seven Last...
Mar 21, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 God is with us though prayer. March 21, 2021 Jeremiah 31:31-34 | Hebrews 5:5-10 | John 12:20-33 | Psalm 51:1-13 Psalm 51:1-13 talks about all kinds of things we have done wrong in God’s sight and how we want to make them right. Prayer is one...
Mar 20, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 God’s spirit is infinite. March 20, 2021 Jeremiah 11:18–20 | John 7:37–52 | Psalm 7:6–11 John 7:37–52 “On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and...
Mar 19, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 God is focused on being faithful to us March 19, 2021 2 Samuel 7:4,8-16 | Romans 4:13-18 | Luke 2:41-52 | Psalm 89:1-29 or 89:1-4, 26-29 For I am persuaded that your love is established for ever;you have set your faithfulness firmly in the...
Mar 18, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Worshiping the Golden Calf March18, 2021 Exodus 32:7–14 | John 5:30–47 | Psalm 106:6–7,19–23 They have cast for themselves an image of a calf, and have worshipped it and sacrificed to it. I suppose having grown up with the Charlton Heston...
Mar 17, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Reach out and share March 17, 2021 Isaiah 49:8–15 | Psalm 145:8–19 | John 5:19–29 They shall feed along the ways,on all the bare heights shall be their pasture;they shall not hunger or thirst,neither scorching wind nor sun shall strike...
Mar 16, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God March 16, 2021 Ezekiel 47:1–9,12 | John 5:1–18 | Psalm 46:1–8 Water flows through these readings, sometimes gently and sometimes with a powerful rush, but always moving, not stagnant....
Mar 15, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 A Short Testament, a poem by Anne Porter March 15, 2021 Isaiah 65:17–25 | John 4:43–54 | Psalm 30:1–6,11–13 Whatever harm I may have doneIn all my life in all your wide creationIf I cannot repair itI beg you to repair it, And then there are...
Mar 14, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 God so loved the world March 14, 2021 Numbers 21:4-9 | Ephesians 2:1-10 | John 3:14-21 | Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal...
Mar 13, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Steadfast Love March 13, 2021 Hosea 6:1–6 | Luke 18:9–14 | Psalm 51:15–20 New Year’s resolutions for me last about two hours; my Lenten disciplines may be maintained for two days before I forget or give up. My self-discipline is sorely...
Mar 12, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 God is speaking to me. Can’t let this one go to voicemail! March 12, 2021 Hosea 14:1–9 | Psalm 81:8–14 | Mark 12:28–34 Hosea 14:1-9 An Old Testament prophet, Hosea – Hebrew for “help” or “salvation” – lived around 750 BC in the kingdom of...
Mar 11, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 God ask us to be with Him March 11, 2021 Jeremiah 7:23–28 | Luke 11:14–23 | Psalm 95:6–11 Jeremiah was a bullfrog.Was a good friend of mine?Never understood a single word he saidBut we always had a mighty sad time. When I received the...
Mar 10, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Raising my ‘feisty quotient’ March 10, 2021 Deuteronomy 4:1–2,5–9 | Matthew 5:17–19 | Psalm 78:1–6 For some reason, my first pass at these readings raised my ‘feisty quotient.’ In the Old Testament reading, Moses urges us to “make [the...
Mar 9, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Could lovingly forgiving someone else enable me to love myself? March 9, 2021 Song of the Three Young Men 2–4,11–20a | Matthew 18:21–35 | Psalm 25:3–10 Matthew 18:21-35 Peter came and said to Jesus, “Lord, if another member of the...
Mar 8, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 ’Wash, and be clean‘ March 8, 2021 2 Kings 5:1–15b | Luke 4:23–30 | Psalm 42:1–7 It’s the imagery of water that catches my attention; how tempting is that thought? That we can dive under, feel the cool energy, and emerge into the sunlight,...
Mar 7, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Rules and Commandments March 7, 2021 Exodus 20:1-17 | 1 Corinthians 1:18-25 | John 2:13-22 | Psalm 19 Throughout the many stages of life one meets the rules prescribed for that age and that moment. It is our response and adherence to these...
Mar 6, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Our trials are His way of perfecting our patience. March 6, 2021 Micah 7:14–15,18–20 | Luke 15:11–32 | Psalm 103:1–4(5–8)9–12 While reading the gospel for today, I was reminded of one of my favorite reflections: Love Ever Gives, Forgives,...
Mar 5, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Who saw that coming? March 5, 2021 Genesis 37:3–4,12–28 | Matthew 21:33–43 | Psalm 105:16–22 At first sight we when we look at the Gospel reading and the first reading from Genesis, we can think to ourselves, what is going on here? Or maybe,...
Mar 4, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Thursday in the Second Week of Lent March 4, 2021 Jeremiah 17:5–10 | Luke 16:19–31 | Psalm 1 I hope you all had a chance to read the lesson from the Gospel of Luke appointed for today. It is one in a string of parables Jesus shared with his...
Mar 3, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 “How about love. Measure in Love.” March 3, 2021 Jeremiah 18:1–11,18–20 | Matthew 20:17–28 | Psalm 31:9–16 “My times are in your hand”– Psalm 31:15 390 The number of days since I have had my hair cut357 The number of days since I...
Mar 2, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Seek Justice and Rescue the Oppressed March 2, 2021 Isaiah 1:2–4,16–20 | Matthew 23:1–12 | Psalm 50:7–15,22–24 We are spending the winter in Georgia as we have for many years. As has been much in the news, Georgia has a long history of Black...
Mar 1, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Sliding over into the passenger seat and letting God drive. March 1, 2021 Daniel 9:3–10 | Luke 6:27–38 | Psalm 79:1–9 Lent means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. To some, it means “giving up” something…Usually...
Feb 28, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Break open (your heart) and never close again to the rest of the world. February 28, 2021 Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 | Romans 4:13-25 | Mark 8:31-38 | Psalm 22:22-30 “He called the crowd with his disciples, and said to them, “If any want to...
Feb 27, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 How can we accept people whose thoughts and actions are antithetical to us? February 27, 2021 Deuteronomy 26:16–19 | Matthew 5:43–48 | Psalm 119:1–8 Wow, Jesus really cuts to the chase when he tells us to love our enemies in Matthew 5:43-48....
Feb 26, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 What is the path to the kingdom of heaven? February 26, 2021 Ezekiel 18:21–28 | Matthew 5:20–26 | Psalm 130 My spaghetti comes in a box. (I hope you intrepid souls who make your own pasta will bear with my analogy.) When my spaghetti comes...
Feb 25, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 My eyes smiled at hers, above our respective masks, and she reached for me. February 25, 2021 Esther (Apocrypha) 14:1–6,12–14 | Matthew 7:7–12 | Psalm 138 “When I called, you answered me,You Increased my strength within me…The Lord will...
Feb 24, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 “The Field of Blood” February 24, 2021 Acts 1:15-26 | Philippians 3:13-21 | John 15:1,6-16 | Psalm 15 Acts 1: “… (Now this man acquired a field with the reward of his wickedness; and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his...
Feb 23, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Seeking reconciliation is inextricably linked with a will to understand February 23, 2021 Isaiah 55:6–11 | Matthew 6:7–15 | Psalm 34:15–22 For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there until they have watered...
Feb 22, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 “The fear of the Lord is clean and endures forever.” February 22, 2021 Leviticus 19:1–2,11–18 | Matthew 25:31–46 | Psalm 19:7–14 The fear of the Lord is cleanand endures for ever;the judgments of the Lord are trueand righteous altogether....
Feb 21, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 So what is this Lent? February 21, 2021 Robert and Georgie Girl, 1968 Genesis 9: 8-17 | Psalm 25: 1-9 | 1 Peter 3: 18-22 | Mark 1: 9-15 Lent for me is a time of reflection. Some days are filled with joy. Others, with despair. We...
Feb 20, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Preparing a Banquet February 20, 2021 Isaiah 58:9b–14 | Luke 5:27–32 | Psalm 86:1–11 We’re only four days into Lent – a time of solemnity and abstinence. But today’s gospel has me thinking about parties. You remember parties… where people...
Feb 19, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Start conversations. Ask questions. Explain why. February 19, 2021 Isaiah 58:1–9a | Matthew 9:10–17 | Psalm 51:1–10 Might these days of Covid-19 during Lent of 2021 occasionally echo those befuddling days when – instead of fasting in...
Feb 18, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 But who do you say that I am? February 18, 2021 Deuteronomy 30:15–20 |Luke 9:18–25 | Psalm 1 Luke 9: 18-25 In The Gospel for my blog entry, Jesus asks his disciples two questions; “Who do the crowds say that I am?” and “But...
Feb 17, 2021 | Lenten Blog
Home > Lenten Blog 2021 Matthew 6: 1, 5-6 February 17, 2021 Joel 2:1-2,12-17 or Isaiah 58:1-12 | 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 | Matthew 6:1-6,16-21 | Psalm 103:8-14 Matthew 6:1, 5-6 Jesus said, “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by...
Jan 6, 2021 | Christmas Blog
O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,...
Jan 5, 2021 | Christmas Blog
Psalm 100 | Heb. 11:32-12:2 | John 1:43-51 Run Beloved, Run – a poem based on Hebrews 12:1-3 Hebrews 12:1-3Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and the sin that clings so closely, and let us run with...
Jan 4, 2021 | Christmas Blog
Psalm 98:1-2,8-9 O sing to the Lord a new song,for he has done marvelous things.His right hand and his holy armhave gotten him victory.The Lord has made known his victory;he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations. Let the floods clap their hands;let...
Jan 3, 2021 | Christmas Blog
Psalm 84 | Luke 2:41-52 | Jeremiah 31:7-14 | Ephesians 1:3-6, 15-19 In Psalm 84, the Psalmist uses the words, “my soul has a desire and longing for the courts of the Lord” – how all of us in 2020 can relate! It has been nearly 10 months since many of us have been on...
Jan 2, 2021 | Christmas Blog
Psalm 98:1-5 | 1 John 2:22-29 | John 1:19-28 I have always loved the idea of “joyful noise”. I have always thought of joyful noise as the perfect description of celebration and praise to our Lord. Normally, this time of year is filled with many opportunities to share...
Jan 1, 2021 | Christmas Blog
Psalm 8 | Exodus 34:1-8 | Romans 1:1-7 | Luke 2:15-21 After reading the scriptures that Mother Tanya had given to me for the 1st day of the 1st month of the New Year (2021). When I first read them it took me a couple of minutes to process exactly what I was reading,...
Dec 31, 2020 | Christmas Blog
Psalm 96:1-2,11-13 | 1 John 2:18-21 | John 1:1-18 O sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth.Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Let the heavens be glad…. It has been said that when you sing a hymn at...
Dec 30, 2020 | Christmas Blog
Psalm 96:7-10 | 1 John 2:12-17 | Luke 2:36-40 The week between Christmas and New Years is unlike any other in the year. The anticipation and preparations of Advent are complete, Christmas Day rituals are done, and a hiatus descends, one that marks the end of a sacred...
Dec 29, 2020 | Christmas Blog
An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in an dream and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.” Matthew 2:13-18 We have spent the better part of...
Dec 28, 2020 | Christmas Blog
Psalm 92 | Exodus 33:12-23 | 1 John 1:1-9 | John 21:9b-24 “God is light and in him there is no darkness at all.” 1 John 1:5 Light spilled out of the window of a house on Court House Lane, beckoning me during an evening walk in November. Inside, a tree was aglow. Any...
Dec 27, 2020 | Christmas Blog
Psalm 147 | Galatians 3:23-25; 4:4-7 | Psalm 147 Anyone who knows me knows that I am truly an outdoor, adventurous person… I love God’s creations. I have climbed mountains; sailed the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific; Dipped my toes in the Indian Ocean and the Sea of...
Dec 26, 2020 | Christmas Blog
You are indeed my rock and my fortress;for your name’s sake lead me and guide me, Be a rock of refuge for me,a strong fortress to save me. Having grown up far from any ocean, I was determined to learn to sail when we moved to Rhode Island now over 20 years ago....
Dec 25, 2020 | Christmas Blog
Isaiah 52:7-10 | Psalm 98 | John 1:1-14 I remember beginning seminary, still a little nervous that I would be found out to be the heretic I knew I truly was deep down inside. Take Jesus for example. I could never wrap my mind around this “Son of God” stuff. What a...
Dec 24, 2020 | Advent Blog
Psalm 89:1-4,19-29 | 2 Samuel 7:1-16 | Luke 1:67-79 First Coming by Madeline L’Engle He did not wait till the world was ready,till men and nations were at peace.He came when the Heavens were unsteady,and prisoners cried out for release. He did not wait for the perfect...
Dec 23, 2020 | Advent Blog
Malachi 3:1-5 | Luke 1:57-66 | Psalm 25:1-14 What is purer than something that has been refined? When God refines something it is as pure and good as it can possibly be. Fullers’ soap was used to clean the sheep’s wool to prepare it to be made into something useful....
Dec 22, 2020 | Advent Blog
Psalm 122 | 1 Samuel 1:19-28 | Luke 1:46-56 Luke 1:46-55 My Soul Magnifies the Lord… During my life this has always been one of my prayers. In fact, in the book of Common Prayer, during daily Evening Prayer the Song of Mary as it has come to be known, is often...
Dec 22, 2020 | Advent Blog
Have you ever tried to define love: to find just the right words to be able to explain to another? Many writers have tried, some with more success than others, but a consistent and definitive definition seems to be somewhat elusive. Definitions fall short of the...
Dec 21, 2020 | Advent Blog
Psalm 35:1-5, 20-22 | Zephaniah 3:14-18a | Luke 1:3 9-45 I am a “glass is half full” kind of gal. I can and will look at the world with rose-colored glasses all day long. This year, 2020, has made it very difficult for me to do that. I work as a nurse in a hospital,...
Dec 19, 2020 | Advent Blog
Nephew Peter, myself, and Priscilla Rigg (circa 2004) Psalm 113 | 1 Samuel 1:19-28 | Luke 1:46-56 We are now in the throes of Advent 2020, on top of a pandemic, but I digress… Reading Luke, no singing Luke 1:46-56 warmed my heart… back around 1995, I first met...
Dec 18, 2020 | Advent Blog
It’s the darkest part of the year; days are short, the afternoon light has that particular golden slant that suggests it won’t last long, then the sun is gone before dinnertime. Hunkered down against the pandemic, emotional and spiritual darkness creep in as well, as...
Dec 17, 2020 | Advent Blog
From Isaiah 54:10 For a brief moment I abandoned you, but with great compassion I will gather you.In overflowing wrath for a moment I hid my face from you,but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you, says the Lord, your Redeemer. For the mountains...
Dec 16, 2020 | Advent Blog
Psalm 85:8-13 | Isaiah 45:5-8(9-17)18-25 | Luke 7:19-23 Sometimes, I try to picture what it would be like if Jesus came to our world right now, in human form. Imagine the local news report gone viral with the description of a person walking into the ICU of a nearby...
Dec 15, 2020 | Advent Blog
I sought the Lord, and he answered me. And delivered me from all my fears. As I read the readings for today, one word that resonated and it’s a word most of has felt more this year than in years past is FEAR. Fear about getting infected with COVID 19, fear of the...
Dec 14, 2020 | Advent Blog
Psalm 25:3-8 | Numbers 24:2-7,15-17a | Matthew 21:23-27 Writing this blog has caused me to engage in a lot of reflection on the past year and to try to discern what our current pandemic experience and polarized politics means – to me, my community and my country. I...
Dec 13, 2020 | Advent Blog
For the past four decades Advent came to represent the times in my life when I could do little more than helplessly hope for and await rescue from my Christ moments. As my spiritual guides explained at the time, these are the moments when we experience the death like...
Dec 12, 2020 | Advent Blog
Well, one thing is for sure: I’m consistent. Each year at this time, I am drawn to the concept of the light coming after the darkness. Perhaps paradoxically, I embrace the darkness, the coziness that comes from it, the inward reflection it inspires, but only because...
Dec 11, 2020 | Advent Blog
I decided to look up the Bible verses for today’s blog in my old family Bible. It has been in my bookcase for years and it just seemed to call to me. When I opened it up, I discovered a handwritten note that said my grandfather had given it to my grandmother in 1955....
Dec 10, 2020 | Advent Blog
Psalm 145:1-4,8-13 | Isaiah 41:13-20 | Matthew 11:7-15I love Advent. Sure it’s the run-up to Christmas, sure it has some lovely symbolism, like the Advent wreath and the Advent calendars and candles. But I love it because it is dramatic. Before we get the...
Dec 9, 2020 | Advent Blog
Psalm 103:1-10 | Isaiah 40:25-31 | Matthew 11:28-30 In today’s lessons from Hebrew scripture, we read of God’s power and strength; a God who forgives our sins, heals our sickness, redeems us from the pit of despair and even provides vindication for the oppressed. Both...
Dec 8, 2020 | Advent Blog
This time of year I am often blessed with the problem of finding gifts for “people who have everything”. How to find a gift that says “you’re special”, for a mother scaling back her possessions, or a friend who has never known hesitation with the American Express...
