Author: Leslie Scoopmire

“You planted your holy song, O Lord, in laughing brook and rambling river fed by rain before time.”

“The hands of God’s love never stop trying to ease us, to soothe us, to work with us and within us to help shape us into our best selves.”

“Each time we gather for communion, we offer our gifts, which are then taken onto the altar—mundane, simple things like bread and wine, yes, but also we offer what we value—our monetary offerings and offerings of our selves: our time and our talents for the common good. Those offerings are then blessed, consecrated, made holy through the power of the Spirit to help empower us as disciples, both individually and as a community. Those gifts are then broken open—barriers and boundaries fall, so that true sharing can take place. And then those gifts are given back, yet somehow enlarged, made greater than their constituent parts.”

“Philosophically, a perfect thing is eternal, and of the spiritual gifts, only love never ends; therefore, it is the greatest of the spiritual gifts.”

“And these songs are not ordinary songs. They speak of making great the works of God in the life of the world. They are as much acts of resistance as they are outpourings of joy. Resistance and glorious visions of justice for the oppressed ring throughout our gospel today.”

“May I walk in paths of justice and mercy that my life may testify to the power of the Holy One.”

“Yet we Episcopalians stubbornly push back against the headlong leap into Christmas for another full month, observing instead the subtle discipline of waiting, of anticipation and patience in the face of instant gratification.”

“…at the times when faith wavers, those five practices form the foundation of an ethic.”

“The wonder expressed in both Job 38 and Psalm 104 startles with its earnest humility and awe, especially when heard now, in our modern era of species extinction and climate change. These verses call us to re-awaken to ourselves and our interdependence upon the myriad forms of life that share this planet, and a humble reminder of our places not above but within creation.”