The Salt and Fire of Dialogue

Readings for the Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 21 Year B Track 2) Numbers 11:4-6, 10-16, 24-29 Psalm 19:7-14 James 5:13-20 Mark 9:38-50 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito CA on September 27, 2015. Several weeks ago, at the 9:30 children’s service, I invited the children to sit silently and imagine God holding them and […]

Welcoming Our Humanity as Beloved by God

Readings for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 20 Year B Track 1) Proverbs 31:10-31 Psalm 1 James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a Mark 9:30 – 37 This sermon was preached at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Crockett CA on September 20, 2015. A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on their way to a church service, […]

September with Celidonius: Being a Polite Guest at the Beloved Disciple’s Dinner Party (Jn 9:7)

καὶ εἶπεν αὐτῷ, Υπαγε νίψαι εἰς τὴν κολυμβήθραν τοῦ Σιλωάμ {ὃ ἑρμηνεύεται Ἀπεσταλμένος}. ἀπῆλθεν οὖν καὶ ἐνίψατο, καὶ ἦλθεν βλέπων. Kai eipen auto, hupage nipsai eis ten kolumbethran tou Siloam (ho hermeneuetai Apestalmenos). Apelthen oun kai enipsato, kai elthen blepon. And he said to him, “Go wash in the pool of Siloam” (which means Sent). […]

September with Celidonius: The Muddy Method (Jn 9:6)

ταῦτα εἰπὼν ἔπτυσεν χαμαὶ καὶ ἐποίησεν πηλὸν ἐκ τοῦ πτύσματος, καὶ ἐπέχρισεν αὐτοῦ τὸν πηλὸν ἐπὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς tauta eipon eptusen kamai kai epoiesen peylon ek tou ptusmatos, kai epekrisen auto ton peylon epi tous ophthalmous Saying these things, he spit on the ground, made mud out of the spit, and with the mud, anointed […]

September with Celidonius: The Light in Light of Mimetic Theory (Jn 9:5)

ὅταν ἐν τῷ κόσμῳ ὦ, φῶς εἰμι τοῦ κόσμου. Hotan en to kosmo o, phos eimi tou kosmou As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world A more literal translation of this short verse would be more Yoda-like: “As long as in the world I am, light I […]

September with Celidonius: Dialogue with Tarfon (Jn 9:4)

Rabbi Tarfon teaches, “The day is short. The task is long. The workers are lazy. The stakes are high. The Master is demanding” Mishna Avot 2:20 “You are not obliged to complete the task, nor are you free to abandon it. If you have studied much Torah you will reap great reward. You can rely […]

September with Celidonius: Without a Hint of Blame (Jn 9:3)

“‘All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of thing shall be well.’ These words were said so kindly and without a hint of blame.” – Julian of Norwich “My grace is sufficient for you. My power is made perfect in weakness” 2 Corinthians 12:9 ἀπεκρίθη Ἰησοῦς, Οὔτε οὗτος ἥμαρτεν οὔτε […]

September with Celidonius: Praying the Question of Suffering (Jn 9:2)

“We are people, we are permitted to have dealings with our creator and we must speak up for the creation. God look at what you’ve done to this creature, look at the sorrow, the cruelty, long-damned waste!” – Annie Dillard καὶ ἠρώτησαν αὐτὸν οἱ μαθηταὶ αὐτοῦ λέγοντες, Ῥαββί, τίς ἥμαρτεν,οὗτος ἢ οἱ γονεῖς αὐτοῦ, ἵνα τυφλὸς γεννηθῇ; Kai erotesan auton hoi mathetai auto legontes, “Rabbi, tis hemarten, houtos e hoi […]

September with Celidonius: Walk and See (Jn 9:1)

“Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.” – Mary Oliver Καὶ παράγων εἶδεν ἄνθρωπον τυφλὸν ἐκ γενετῆς (Kai paragon eiden anthropon tuphlon ek genetes) “And walking along he saw a man blind from birth…” (9:1) This verse begins with the most common New Testament conjunction “kai,” used more than 9,000 […]