Do you also wish to go away?

“This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?” I find the lectionary readings for this Sunday very difficult and challenging to accept… “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands to heaven” 1 Kings 8 When I read about Solomon […]

Heathrow

In a little place called London Heathrow Airport, I am. Twice, I thought I saw Ed Horsley in the airport, but after looking more closely I realized I was looking at middle-aged British women with scraggly hair. I slept uncomfortably for a few hours on the flight, watched two movies, and read Naim Ateek’s A […]

reLAX, finally

After eight hours of phone calls, 200 bones, and an unpleasant night sleep, I have arrived at my gate at LAX with my boarding pass in my pocket. Because I have only eaten peanuts, carrots and a bowl of cereal today, I decided to buy a dinner/snack at Starbucks. I just spent $10, which is […]

daniel ben bob and the 18 vertebrae

In Annie Dillard’s For the Time Being, I learned that 18 is the numerical value of the Hebrew word “life” and that when Jews pray to the ancient Western Wall they bend 18 vertebrae… In Jerusalem in the summer of 2003, my 18 vertebrae bent toward the Western Wall. Praying to the wall had always […]

Another Jerusalem Poem

Jerusalem: the face visible yet hidden, the sap and blood of all that makes us live or renounce life. The spark flashing in the darkness, the murmur rustling through shouts of happiness and joy. A name, a secret. For the exiled, a prayer. For all others, a promise. Jerusalem: seventeen times destroyed yet never erased. […]

Returning to Jerusalem

I’m leaving for Israel-Palestine tomorrow night. And while I’ve been packing, I’ve been looking over some old notes from my last trip to Israel in 2003. Pastor Brian Morganstern wrote this poem for me, Fellow pilgrim and poet, you are here! Walk in its ways, feel the texture of its walls, feel the weight of […]

The Voice of Love as the Key to the Kingdom of God

Readings for the Second Sunday after Pentecost (Year B) Ezekiel 17:22-24 Psalm 92:1-4, 11-14 2 Corinthians 5:6-10, (11-13), 14-17 Mark 4:26-34 This sermon was preached at Church of Our Saviour Episcopal Parish in San Gabriel CA on Sunday June 14, 2009. This year, I had the privilege of celebrating Palm Sunday at a little […]

Gargoyles of Notre Dame de Paris

One of the highlights of our voyage for me was visiting the grand Gothic cathedral: Notre Dame de Paris. Apart from being magnificent and enormous, I found the cathedral to be daunting, frightening and bizarre. The flying buttresses span out like giant spider legs, the circular stained-glass windows glare like a monstrous Cyclops, and the […]

Annunciation Day in Florence, Italy

Nine months before Christmas Day, the Church celebrates the Annunciation of Our Lord Jesus Christ to the Blessed Virgin Mary or Lady Day (as the Church of England likes to call it) or the AOLJC to the BVM (as I like to abbreviate it). This day commemorates the angel Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that […]

The Perfect Sufi

When Westerners hear of Sufis, they often think of the whirling dervishes (maybe from Madonna’s music video) or the elated poetry of the popular Persian Rumi, or severe acts of self-mortification. Although the twirling and self-mutilation may initially sound repulsive or ludicrous, the questions beg to be asked: Are the motivations behind such Sufi […]