honoring the wisdom in the Room

Readings for the Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 19 – Year B – Track 2) Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 116:1-8 James 3:1-12 Mark 8:27-38 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on September 12, 2021. As a freshman at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, I sat in a classroom that usually pulsated with nervous […]

Sacred Morality and Holy Ethics

Readings for the Fifteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 18 – Year B – Track 2) Isaiah 35:4-7a Psalm 146 James 2:1-10, [11-13], 14-17 Mark 7:24-37 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on September 5, 2021. Since 2013, I’ve been teaching Christian Ethics at the Episcopal School for Deacons in Berkeley; and this […]

Sauntering with St. Augustine (in August)

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Augustine of Hippo Hebrews 12:22–29 Psalm 87 John 14:5–15 This reflection (mostly culled from A Great Cloud of Witnesses: A Calendar of Commemorations) was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday August 28, 2021 at Sequoia Park in Eureka CA. Augustine, perhaps the greatest theologian in the history […]

A Community of Companions Ultimately Choosing Life

Readings for the Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 16 – Year B – Track 2) Joshua 24:1-2a,14-18 Psalm 34:15-22 Ephesians 6:10-20 John 6:56-69 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on August 22, 2021. Yesterday, several of us celebrated the feast of St. Bernard of Clairvaux by sauntering through the redwoods at Sequoia […]

Discovering Wisdom in the Woods with St. Bernard of Clairvaux

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Bernard of Clairvaux Song of Songs 1:1–8 Psalm 139:1–9 John 15:7–11 This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday August 21, 2021 at Sequoia Park in Eureka CA. Bernard was the son of a knight and landowner who lived near Dijon, France. He was born in […]

A Community of Companions Walking in the Way of High Priestly Wisdom

Readings for the Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 15 – Year B – Track 2) Proverbs 9:1-6 Psalm 34:9-14 Ephesians 5:15-20 John 6:51-58 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on August 15, 2021. Earlier this summer, Ashley and I visited a special exhibit at the Legion of Honor Museum in San Francisco. […]

“Ministry is Not For Sissies”: The Faithfulness of Jonathan Myrick Daniels

Readings for the Feast Day of Jonathan Myrick Daniels Amos 5:18–24 Psalm 85:7–13 Luke 1:46–55 This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday August 14, 2021 at Sequoia Park in Eureka CA. Yesterday, my clergy coach the Rev. Dr. Mark Anschutz said, “Ministry is not for sissies.” And these words are appropriate for […]

A Community of Complainers?

Readings for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 14) – Track 2 1 Kings 19:4-8 Psalm 34:1-8 Ephesians 4:25-5:2 John 6:35, 41-51 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on August 8, 2021. I’d like to begin my sermon this morning with a joke that my Jewish father used to liked. It’s about a […]

Transfiguration and the Rainbow Body

Readings for the Feast Day of Transfiguration Exodus 34:29-35 Psalm 99:5-9 Luke 9:28-36 This reflection was shared at Sacred Saunter Outdoor Eucharist on Saturday August 7, 2021 at Sequoia Park in Eureka CA. Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Transfiguration, when Jesus appeared wonderfully transfigured to chosen witnesses (Peter, James, and John), flanked […]

A Community of Companions Who Occasionally Need to Kvetch

Readings for the Tenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 13) – Track 2 Exodus 16:2-4,9-15 Psalm 78:23-29 Ephesians 4:1-16 John 6:24-35 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Eureka CA on August 1, 2021. Like several of you, I receive daily meditations in my email inbox from Franciscan priest and author Richard Rohr. And on Wednesday […]