“In 1782, William White wrote the masterful pamphlet, The Case of The Episcopal Church in the United States Considered, which laid out a plan for the new Episcopal Church to be composed of both ordained and lay leadership: the House of Bishops AND the House of Deputies.”
“Perhaps it is God’s ultimate mercy that we do not know the days God has formed for us.”
“We’ve known death, Paul and I, and it struck us both afresh: here was Jesus, knowing what would happen the next day, spending the last night he will have on this earth with the rag-tag followers who have collected around him, loved him and been guided by him. They are still pretty oblivious, but he knows he has one final opportunity to teach them, leave them with something unforgettable. After all the long months, the healing, preaching, teaching and revelations are ending for him – think of his sense of urgency! He’s leaving his ministry to them to sustain the next day. There will be no do-overs. What is the most important thing he must convey, if his work is to bear fruit?”
“With a focus on Independence, I reflected on the contributions of America’s two greatest sons, George Washington, a master craftsperson in the forging of the United States and Martin Luther King, Jr., a master craftsperson in the ongoing effort to forge a united people.”
“All of my favorite spiritual memoirists are white women. The church communities that welcomed them are largely mainline Protestant ones (Kathleen Norris excepted). Those are, unsurprisingly, markers of my own identity. As influential as their voices have been in my own self-understanding, I might be identifying with these authors more than I am being stretched by my listening in.”
“In this passage, Jesus sets an example for us, showing us how we are to interact with others we encounter. This story is a reminder that as followers of Jesus we are called to treat our fellow human beings with respect. That means respecting others’ autonomy, personal space, and ability to speak for themselves. That means recognizing and trusting that people are experts on their own situation.”
“But I wonder if Hagar had nightmares. Nightmares of being forced to lie with her master. Nightmares of death by heat exposure and thirst even after finding her new life in Paran. I wonder if Ishmael remembered the little brother he played with, who ended up with all the love of the father who loved Ishmael less. I wonder if the pain, the humiliation, the loss, the separation, the bitterness stayed with them.”
“Christianity is a religion of transformation: think of Paul’s appeal to transform one’s mind in alignment with the radical new freedom inaugurated by Jesus’ resurrection. It is a religion, even, of revolution: think of Mary’s song about how her son will cast down the mighty and lift up the poor and hungry.”
“I Said to Godhead:
The first rule of radio is that dead air freaks people out, makes them change the station. When there should be sound, and is none, is uncomfortable. Are you even listening to me? You can almost hear people straining their ears to hear you, to catch one note echoing back in reply to a prayer, a plea, a please. Do you even have a sound, a vibration? Pure silence is impossible to hear because our ears make a faint noise when listening—it is our eardrums humming a bit. Do I sound crazy because it’s the truth? It’s true—we can’t hear silence because our own bodies are so loud, our biology reminding us we’re not rotting, not yet. You must know that our ear drums continue to vibrate for a while after we’re dead. Is that you, finally?”
“There is a wonderful scene in Mary Magdalene, hoards have gathered, desperate, dirty, some maybe mentally ill, people in great need of hope and blessing. Jesus sends the Apostles out to bless them, and we follow them and especially Mary as they move among a crowd of humanity, blessing, never asking political affiliation, if they’d led blameless lives and where thus worthy, or how much money or social standing they had. They simply moved among their neighbors, listening, praying, and blessing. Being present, and bearing witness. It feels like a good example to me.”