When I was seven years old, my parents took me to London to see the sights. It was a big deal: as the baby of the family I rarely got my parents to myself. Among the usual tourist attractions that we visited was the obligatory witnessing of the changing of the guard at Buckingham Palace. … READ MORE…
Two men went up to the Temple to pray. If we were to tell this story in our own context, who would these men be? One was a pillar of the community: a supreme court justice, or a bishop perhaps, a highly educated man who lived his life exactly as his faith directed; a good … READ MORE…
Six words: Love Christ, Serve Others, Welcome All. These six words, the mission statement of our cathedral, also encompass our purpose here today. For we are celebrating Vida Joven de Mexico, our foster home in Tijuana, MX. We support Vida Joven to love, protect and educate some 30 – 35 children. These children have been … READ MORE…
The gospel lesson this morning presents a community in an in-between space. As lepers, these ten travelers were ritually impure. We don’t really know what leprosy meant– it was likely a combination of what we consider to be many skin afflictions today– but until the afflictions were healed the persons afflicted were prohibited from certain … READ MORE…
What can we say about a man who preached to the birds, who picked worms out of the road so they wouldn’t be trampled by traffic, and who, when he was dying, insisted on being stripped naked and laid directly on the ground so that he could be at one with his beloved Mother Earth? … READ MORE…
“There was once a rich man who had a manager”. So Jesus begins the parable of the dishonest steward. Now, we’ve all heard lots of Jesus’s parables, and they often begin, “There was once a man … Or a king … Or a father”. Usually, that character in the story turns out to stand for … READ MORE…
My fellow resident assistants and I had stayed up late the night before preparing for the arrival of 90 college freshmen who would be coming in a couple days, so the knock at the door around 6:30 in the morning was unwelcome. The professor who lived in our dorm, Mary, said “Colin, I think you’re … READ MORE…
Dear Philemon, You might be wondering where your servant, named Useful, has got to. Well, he’s been with me, taking care of me in jail, and now I’m sending him back to you, even though he has indeed been very useful to me. You’re probably pretty annoyed with him for disappearing – and the law … READ MORE…
You may have heard by now that y’all are sending Laurel and me somewhere new — at the end of September the Cathedral is sending us to St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in North Park two and a half miles away. The Bishop had something to do with this new thing — as did Dean Penny … READ MORE…
I want to register a complaint. Someone has tampered with my Bible. Just look at this Gospel reading: these verses don’t describe the Jesus I like to imagine, gentle Jesus meek and mild, who came to bring love and unity, to heal all wounds and to teach us from his limitless store of patience and … READ MORE…