Category Archives: lectionary reflection

Fire and water

The thing about pursuing an ethic of life, an ethic of love, is that it’s going to take a lot of work, a lot of humility, a lot of patience, and a lot of forgiveness. Continue reading

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Salt, light, love

A sermon delivered at the Solemn Sung Eucharist service of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio. The propers are for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany _______________ You are the salt of the earth; … You are the light of the world. … Continue reading

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A Song of Anna

Anna, too, breaks into praises, and she, too, has something to say about what this means, the coming of the Messiah, the birth of the Christ, and his appearance in the Temple. She tells all who will listen – but her words, unlike Simeon’s, are not recorded. Continue reading

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Fishing

After John was arrested, they returned to Galilee and to their nets. They must have lost track of Jesus when he went into the wilderness alone after his baptism, during those long days of fasting and temptation. And here he is, back as if from the dead, and once again, they follow him. Continue reading

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What’s in a name?

By what name does God know you? By what name, into what name does God call you? What does that tell you about the path of your discipleship, about the ways in which you are called to live into the Gospel of Christ? Continue reading

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Holy Name

His name means saviour, and it has been his name since before his journey into his humanity began. The eighth day marks a new beginning, after the work of creation, after the sabbath rest, the rest of time begins on the eighth day, along with all that is to follow. But he has been our saviour since before time, and will be forever. Continue reading

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The wolf and the lamb

To speak of love is to render it tame; so the word became flesh and took again the fiercer features of life; took flight from the angels, hid instead within the brutish warmth of mother-milk and frailty; the love whose name we dare to speak for fear else of devouring one … Continue reading

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A broader mischief

I am sorry to say that today is not convenient for revolution. I have Sadducees coming for dinner and some scribes – I did not tell them of each other – I have employed unemployed tax collectors as wait staff and women of repute  for the cabaret. Mary is livid, … Continue reading

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A messiah for the rest of us

A reflection on the coming Sunday’s gospel, John’s question, which is perennially ours; Jesus’ answer, which is ours, too While John took on kings and their consorts, Jesus consorted with the lowly and the leprous. While John baptized gods, Jesus … Continue reading

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Christ, the king we need

At the end, as at the beginning of his ministry, Jesus was subjected to the taunts and contempt of the tempter. The voices that surrounded him invited him to abdicate his position as one of us, Emmanuel, God with us; … Continue reading

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