God, our strength and our hope, grant us the courage of John the Baptist, constantly to speak the truth and boldly to rebuke injustice, with eyes open to recognize God among us. We are in the season of Epiphany, the season of growing light, the season of the Magi and the revelation of Christ to…

[RCL] Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7; Psalm 66:1-11; 2 Timothy 2:8-15; Luke 17:11-19 Look again at today’s collect. “Lord, we pray that your grace may always precede and follow us, that we may continually be given to good works…” That’s a good thing to pray for— “that we may continually be given to good works.” In other…

This Fourth Sunday of Easter is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. In all three lectionary years—A, B, and C—we read the Good Shepherd monologue from the tenth chapter of John. It is a complicated passage, in that Jesus identifies himself as being the Good Shepherd, the Gatekeeper, and even the Gate to the sheep-fold. And…

RCL: Acts 3:12-19; Psalm 4; 1 John 3:1-7; Luke 24:36b-48 Acts 3:12-19 Today’s passage from Acts is a tricky text that has contributed to Christianity’s unfortunate anti-Jewish and antisemitic history of violence. From the crusades to the Holocaust to today’s rise of neo-Nazism, misunderstandings of passages such as this one from Acts have led to…

RCL: Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25; Psalm 78:1-7; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13 Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25 “If you forsake the Lord and serve foreign gods, then he will turn and do you harm and consume you, after having done you good.” While Joshua’s intensity in our reading might make us uncomfortable, I wonder if there might be…

There are two senses of the word “pride.” Sometimes “pride” refers to the self-respect and strength needed to sustain a group in the face of hardship. Thus we have the slogan used in one area of a small Midwestern city: “Pride in the South Side.” Pride of this kind can be acceptable, even necessary. Another…

The Executive Council of The Episcopal Church has issued the following message following the conclusion of its three-day meeting at the Conference Center at the Maritime Institute in Linthicum Heights, MD. A Message to The Episcopal Church from the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church, meeting in Linthicum, Maryland, June 16-18, 2010 In the 1960s…

In commemoration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (August 9th), the Global Partnerships Office has been featuring a four-part interview with Nellie Adkins (Chickahominy, Diocese of Virginia), one of fourteen Anglican/Episcopal delegates who participated in the 11th session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues as part of the Anglican Communion’s delegation. The interview has…

[RCL]: Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28; Psalm 105:1-6, 16-22, 45b, Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33 Today’s Gospel features one of the most iconic of all Christian scenes: Christ coming to the disciples upon the waves. Jesus walking on water has become almost a cultural cliché; it graces everything from ancient icons to dollar store postcards. In this passage,…

Several years ago, thirty members of the Council of Associated Parishes for Liturgy and Mission held their annual meeting in Cuernavaca, Mexico. Their subject matter was culture and social justice, and so they arranged for a workshop of liberation theology and its local expression in Cuernavaca. On a hot April afternoon they were led across…