“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…
“You can’t do that, it’s against the rules.” When was the last time you heard that, or said it yourself, or even said it to yourself? In childhood we hear it a lot, as we learn the allowable limits of behavior. I am by nature a rule-obeyer. It makes me anxious to ponder breaking the … READ MORE…
If the Gospel readings have begun sounding familiar the last few weeks, you’re not imagining things. We are four weeks in to a five-week reading of the Gospel of John’s sixth chapter. The chapter begins with the miraculous feeding of the five thousand, and continues with a lengthy theological interpretation of the miracle. But maybe … READ MORE…
The call came on Ash Wednesday, a decade or more ago. I was in the sacristy, preparing for the noon service, when, most unusually, the secretary buzzed me from the office. An emergency call from a parishioner, bringing the news of a death. A well-known local musician, not a member of the church but a … READ MORE…