Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"All things are vanity!" Once more, truth slaps us in the face. Money. Power. Fame. Every marker we use to define success is nothing more than chaff. Love is the treasure that matters to our Parent. Not our freedoms. Not our tribes. Not our institutions. Only love. Only love lasts. Only love will linger after we, and this entire planet for that matter, are turned "back to dust." So let go of the lusts and the lies, and instead let love be "the work of our hands." Only then shall we know true glory.

Ecclesiastes 1:2, 2:21-23; Psalms 90:3-17; Colossians 3:1-11; Luke 12:13-21

Seventeenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

"Ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." We pray, but do not receive peace. We march, but do not find justice. Is our Parent failing to live up to their end of the bargain? Or are we refusing to step through the door that has been offered? The enemy in need of empathy. The stranger in need of mercy. The friend in need of truth. These are the opportunities for grace for which we have pleaded. These are the solutions to the chaos and confusion surrounding us, not programs or politics. Family is what we need, and it is waiting just beyond the open door.

Genesis 18:20-32; Psalms 138:1-8; Colossians 2:12-14; Luke 11:1-13

Feast of Saint Mary Magdalene

"My soul is thirsting for you," the One "whom my heart loves." Oh how I struggle to do your will, to tell your story. I do such a piss poor job of it, but you refuse to release me from my burden, you refuse to take back this gift. Thank you. Thank you for the honor of this particular cross. I am ready to bear its weight once more. And with the help of Sister Mary and all our kin, it shall not crush me.

Song of Songs 3:1-4; Psalms 63:2-9; John 20:1-18

Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity

Today is our annual reminder that the Divine is not the rational and reasonable object we wish them to be. God is strange, in so many ways. We can try to explain away such truth. Or we can accept it. We can embrace it. And then we will come to know someone wonderful, someone far more wonderful than any consumer-friendly version peddled by corporate religion. Yes, God is strange! Alleluia!

Proverbs 8:22-31; Psalms 8:2-9; Romans 5:1-5; John 16:12-15

Pentecost Sunday

"Lord, send out your Spirit, and renew the face of the earth." What image did you hold in your mind as you sung these words today? Are you waiting for a miracle, of either divine or political origin, to get us there? Or are you willing to be an instrument of the Spirit right here and right now? All our Parent asks of us is that we acknowledge our neighbors as our family, then allow grace to take over our hearts. It is the only renewal we need. And also the only one with even the slightest chance of success.

Acts 2:1-11; Psalms 104:1-34; Romans 8:8-17; John 14:15-26

Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lord

"Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?" Or perhaps the disciples said it like this: "Jesus, now are you going to make Israel great again?" And perhaps they stood there "looking at the sky" because they were disappointed in our Brother's answer. Yes, we have always longed for the sort of savior who pledges to "restore the kingdom" according to our image. But will such a person, be they man or woman, left, right, or socialist, ever provide us with what we truly need? If the Ascension teaches us anything, it is that we have a very bad habit of looking in all the wrong places.

Acts 1:1-11; Psalms 47:2-9; Hebrews 9:24-10:23; Luke 24:46-53

Sixth Sunday of Easter

"Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid." How are we to do this, surrounded as we are by pain and anger? Trust. We are called to trust in our Parent's love, to trust that the Spirit will be with us when we need her, to trust that they will return for us when the time comes. Yes, such trust is a tall order. Yes, we would much prefer a plan to eliminate the sources of our troubles and fear. But our Brother did not leave us with one of those. No, he left us something better: hope. Alleluia! Alleluia!

Acts 15:1-29; Psalms 67:2-8; Revelation 21:10-23; John 14:23-29

Fifth Sunday of Easter

The "old order" is a way of power and tribalism, and we cling to it like a life preserver. We do not trust love, because we know where it leads. We are not blind. We see what happens to those who obey our Brother's new commandment. We hear the wailing. And we want no part of this cross.

But what if we chose to be brave? What might it look like if we loved one another as our Parent loves us? What would it mean to love the grouchy, the annoying, the misfit, the lunatic, the enemy? What if we let privilege go unchecked, trusting in the grace of encounter to wash away prejudice, knowing that such a process will take generations upon generations? What if we refuse to build walls that keep out the stranger, trusting in the grace of hospitality to bridge the deepest chasms, knowing that some will take advantage and do us harm? What if we listen, really listen, to the voices we most want to ignore, knowing that we might have to choose between our agenda and the hope of friendship?

So what about you? Will you choose boldness or safety? Will you trust in the promise of Easter? Will you trust in the grace of love? Or will you put your faith in human kings and kingdoms?

Acts 14:21-27; Psalms 145:1-13; Revelation 21:1-5; John 13:31-35

Fourth Sunday of Easter

It is easy to get overwhelmed by life, to be consumed by the demands of this, that, and the other. But we do not belong to such demands, nor to the society that creates them. No, we belong to our Parent, and to our Parent alone. Remember that truth the next time human dictates threaten to grind your soul into despair. Then shake the dust from your feet and be "filled with joy and the Holy Spirit."

Acts 13:14-52; Psalms 100:1-5; Revelation 7:9-17; John 10:27-30

Third Sunday of Easter

What shall we be fed? And whom do we trust to feed us? Those seem like questions worth pondering, especially in a presidential election year. It is easy to get drawn into the drama of human intrigue. And it is even easier to forget that the realm we inhabit is much larger than the piece of dirt upon which we walk. Yes, we must pay attention to practical things. But we must also remember that no politician or party can ever rescue us in a way that truly matters. So discern well for whom you will vote. And then discern even more vigorously on whom you will follow and whom you will obey.

Acts 5:27-41; Psalms 30:2-13; Revelation 5:11-14; John 21:1-19