John in July: Choosing Hygieia and Collaborating with the Creator (Jn 5)

Choosing Hygieia When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been there a long time, he said to him, “Do you want to be made well?” The first question Jesus asks in the Fourth Gospel is “What do you want? What are looking for?” Jesus asks this same question to the reader. […]

John in July: A Lonely Woman and a Royal Official (Jn 4)

A few days ago, a former Catholic priest who now considers himself a Catholic Episcopal Buddhist gave me a book on the essential writings of an English Catholic theologian named Caryll Houselander (1901 – 1954). After a quick dip into her life and wisdom, I have quickly grown to like her. She was a poet, […]

John in July: Snakes and the Green-Eyed Monster (Jn 3)

Snakes “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (3:14) In Numbers Chapter 21, the Israelites are frustrated and impatient, hungry and thirsty and fed up with their “miserable food.” On top of this, poisonous snakes show up and poison many Israelites to death […]

John in July: Wine, Dine and Psalm 69 (Jn 2)

Wine So far Jesus has been portrayed as the Logos (the divine mediator) cast out of the world, the Passover Lamb to be slaughtered and the target and victim of Nathanael’s prejudice. And we’ve only been through one chapter! Jesus seems to be taking it all in stride, all of the many manifestations of the […]

John in July: God as Outcast (Jn 1)

This summer I need to buckle down and focus on the Gospel of John in order to prepare for the writing of my dissertation. I decided to take on the discipline of daily blogging in order to force myself to “read, mark, learn and inwardly digest” the Fourth Gospel. The current ambition is to write […]

St. Alban and the Sacrament of Baptism

Readings for the Feast Day of St. Alban Wisdom 3:1-9 Psalm 69:15-20 Romans 6:1b-11 Matthew 10:26-28a, 29-31, 40, 42 This sermon was preached at St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Albany CA on June 22, 2014 Before England was called England, when it was just an island at the outermost edge of the known world, there […]

Beatitudes: Attitudes that Help Us Be (Still)

Readings for the Wedding of David William Harty and Martha Buckle Shear: Tobit 8:5b-8 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 Matthew 5:1 – 10 This sermon was preached at the Wedding of David Harty and Martha Shear on June 21, 2014 at Ru’s Farm at Healdsburg Country Gardens in Healdsburg CA. Over the last few months, I have […]

The Spirit Who Empowers Us All to Be Bishops, Priests and Deacons

Readings for Pentecost Sunday Acts 2:1-21 Psalm 104:25-35, 37 1 Corinthians 12:3b-13 John 20:19-23 This sermon was preached at the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer in San Rafael CA on June 8, 2014. Today is a special day not only because it is Pentecost, the birthday of the Church (the 1,981st birthday of the church […]

How to Overcome Ascension Deficit Disorder

Readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter Acts 1:6-14 Psalm 68:1-10; 33-36 1 Peter 4:12-14; 5:6-11 John 17:1-11 This sermon was preached at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Crockett CA on Sunday June 1, 2014 This last Thursday was the 40th day of Easter which meant it was Ascension Day, a day that commemorates a truth we claim every […]

Love Was His Meaning

Readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter (Year A) Acts 2:42-47 Psalm 23 1 Peter 2:19-25 John 10:1-10 This sermon was preached at Christ Episcopal Church in Sausalito CA on Sunday May 11, 2014 In a song that Bob Dylan co-wrote with U2, Bono sings one of the most challenging lyrics in the whole U2 catalog […]