I invite you to close your eyes and imagine yourself in a room in your house at night. Do whatever you can to make it as dark as possible — shut the door, close the curtains tightly — and now light a match. Watch its flaring flame, its flickering dance along the walls, and its … READ MORE…
I was in high school when it was suggested that I should have my eyes tested for glasses. The doctor told me that I was near sighted. Not only that, I also have astigmatism. That means that things far away were not only blurry, there were two of them. So I got my first pair … READ MORE…
Let’s think about cats and cucumbers for a minute. A recent viral video is a compilation of clips, each showing a cat discovering a cucumber right behind it, obviously placed there by the person wielding the camera, and reacting in extreme fear: leaping up in the air, climbing the wall, or streaking away. It’s presented … READ MORE…
“When you hear of wars and rumors of wars, do not be alarmed; this is but the beginning of the birthpangs.” This week, once again, we might wish that we were only dealing with rumors of war. Instead, we have worldwide words and images and witness to senseless carnage. It is no rumor that on … READ MORE…
Good morning. Last week, we gathered to commemorate the saints who have gone before us and to celebrate the unsung saints still in our midst. Some of us brought fresh grief to the table, and others more seasoned sorrow. And I was left thinking about how both gentle and powerful, comforting and terrifying love can … READ MORE…
“Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with strips of cloth, and his face wrapped in a cloth. Jesus said, “Unbind him, and let him go.” St John reaches the climactic moment of his Book of Signs: after water into wine, healings, feedings, and storm-calmings, we now understand that … READ MORE…
It’s really hard to appreciate the strangeness of this Gospel passage if you don’t know where it comes in the overall story. Jesus has been traveling throughout the land, teaching, exorcising, and healing. His reputation has grown, and his disciples regard him with awe. He is now heading for Jerusalem, where, as he has already … READ MORE…
Stacey Simpson is a grown woman who vividly remembers the first time the story of Jesus and the rich man cut through to her heart. She was seven years old, propped up on her pillows and reading her children’s Bible in her comfy bed, when she read the account that we just heard from the … READ MORE…
I grew up in a country at war. It was Northern Ireland, in the 1960’s, and there was a war going on all around us, except we didn’t call it war, we called it “The Troubles”, because calling it a war would be much too frightening for a country that was still recovering from a … READ MORE…
Chris Harris, former Canon for Congregational Development, recently moved to St. Bartholomew’s Church in Poway. However, we are still his sponsoring parish as he continues his journey towards the priesthood. Here is his first sermon at St. Bart’s where he brought a little of the Cathedral’s tradition of Labor Day in the Pulpits to Poway, … READ MORE…