Throughout the month of July, I attempted to blog about each chapter of the Fourth Gospel in order to get a sufficient grasp of the Gospel as a whole. I did this as part of my preparation for designing and teaching a class on John this upcoming Spring semester at CDSP and, more importantly, as […]

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Martin de Porres, St. Rosa de Lima and St. Toribio de Mogrovejo: Psalm 9:9-14 James 2:1–8,14–17 Mark 10:23–30 This homily was preached at All Saints Chapel at The School for Deacons Opening Eucharist on Saturday August 23, 2014. In the early 1980s, Catholic priest and spiritual author Henri Nouwen left a […]

Readings for the Feast Day of Jeremy Taylor Psalm 139:1-9 Matthew 24:42-47 This homily was preached at St. Clement’s Episcopal Church in Berkeley CA on August 13, 2014 “God is wholly in every place, included in no place, not bound with cords except those of love” – Jeremy Taylor “It would just be nice, if heaven […]

I recently received a book called The Rainbow Book from its author F. Lanier Graham, who signed it and wrote, “For Daniel who sees the Light beyond color.” There is a lot one can say about F. Lanier Graham, but I will try to be brief. He used to play chess with French artist Marcel […]

“They put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. And Jesus received the wine.” (John 19:30) My favorite sacred site in the Holy Land and perhaps in the world is the Western Wall in Jerusalem. When I first visited about ten years ago, I remember […]

My friend and I walked out of the corner liquor store, where I bought a Twix chocolate bar and a bottle of honey green tea. It took longer than usual to make my purchase because the store clerk stepped out to ask a group of people outside who appeared to be loitering to move away. […]

The Gospel of John emphasizes a realized eschatology more than the Synoptic Gospels, which describe more of a future eschatology. In other words, eternal life (ἡ αἰώνιος ζωή) in the Fourth Gospel is not just something we enter into when we die, but something we begin to enjoy as we come to know the only […]

The time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God (16:2) In this verse, Jesus describes sacred violence to a tee. Humanity, since the days of Cain, has been blindly caught up in collective violence cloaked in religion. Jesus’ death reveals the violent murder hidden underneath the […]

Pruning and Winnowing At the end of June, I stayed a couple nights at a Cistercian monastery in a town called Vina, a few hours north of Berkeley. They grow their own grapes and work with a fifth-generation winemaker to produce some pretty good wine, which they invite retreatants to enjoy at their wine-tasting bar. […]

“I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 I often like to claim a triple religious identity by calling myself an “episcobujew” (an Episcopalian Buddhist Jew). I honestly find wisdom, truth and helpful ways of living in Buddhism and Judaism. So how do […]