The saying that “seeing is believing” could be a tagline for this Sunday’s Gospel, which tells the story of the man born blind (John 9:1-41).  In the story, Jesus heals a man by endowing him with the gift of sight, enabling him to see for the first time in his life.  When challenged by the religious authorities, the gratefu…

Perhaps, in your Lenten time of meditation, you may take the time to listen to one or all of these Lenten masterpieces compiled here. From the Baroque to the Modern, composers have tried to capture what earthly ears, hands and voices can feebly convey. From our lips, to God’s ears.   O all you who walk by on the road,…

Lent.   Just by reading that one word, I bet your mind was flooded with images, words, and memories. When I hear the word “Lent,” my mind jumps to words like ashes, sin, penitence, fasting, forgiveness, and death. Whatever you associate with Lent, some Lenten themes can make us squeamish. Sin and penitence, for example…

We hear a lot in the media about climate change and the harm it inflicts on people, communities, and wildlife.  Finding ways to prevent and mitigate damage is a political, economic, and social challenge.  It’s also a challenge for people of faith.  As the church explains, “In Jesus, God so loved the whole world.  We follow…

When it comes to the Bible, one of our biggest struggles as Christians is how to interpret the Old Testament. How do we appreciate the transformative nature of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection without discounting or dismissing the blessings God was already bestowing on the world through the people of Israel? Too many tim…

Most Episcopalians I know are skeptical of evangelism. Honestly, so am I. Evangelism conjures images of opening your front door only to find a pushy man with a comb-over asking if you have “heard the good news.” One pastor I met a long time ago referred to his job as “selling fire insurance.” There is something uncomfortabl…

St. Peter, St. Paul, St. Thomas . . . but Thomas Clarkson? Not a household name, to be sure, nor was Clarkson formally canonized (canonization isn’t an Episcopal or Anglican practice).  Clarkson is nonetheless honored with a commemoration on the calendar of the Church of England, along with the better-known William Wilberfo…

As Christians, our faith is formed around stories from the Bible. There, we learn about Jesus feeding 5000 people with a couple of fish and five loaves of bread. Or we remember that he calmed a storm and walked on water. We may recall that following his resurrection, Jesus fed his disciples on a beach not far from Capernaum…

I used to be a person who didn’t decorate my home for Christmas until after the 4th Sunday of Advent. My wonderful and patient spouse was kind about my insistence in the early years of our marriage. But in 2020, when the world felt pretty bleak in the midst of the COVID pandemic, David said that the world needed more light….

One of my favorite scripture passages is Genesis 28:16 “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I knew it not.” It is uttered by Jacob after he wakes up from his famous dream about a ladder that goes up from Earth to Heaven with angels ascending and descending. The beauty of this marvelous revelation moves him to exclaim that…