“Each family that awaits judgment at the borders of the U.S. is a holy family. Not only is each beloved of God, but each has a potential destiny of profound benefit to the world.”
“I am convinced that God cares far less about any particular position I hold than about the way I engage the people around me. Indeed, Jesus criticized the Pharisees for adopting a right and wrong (dualistic) approach to religion.”
“The conversation around the table includes recounting memories, laughter, and hopes for the future. Stomachs and hearts are full. There are no phones and no to-do lists, only time to look one another in the eye and share in this moment.”
“Sometimes we have to speak out. It is dangerous, but it is righteous. It was Jesus’ time to fulfill his task, not Joseph’s time to sway the council. But Joseph did what he could and risked all for a proper burial. Hard tasks are hard but need to be done.”
“It’s not about hating your family. It’s about letting go of what is most precious to you. Maybe it’s not your family. Maybe it’s something else. Still, let it go. That’s what this passage says. Doing that will be painful. There are no guarantees. Yet, the message is clear: The cost of discipleship is simple. The cost is everything.”
I pray for the people whose lives will be impacted by storms and tempests caused by the climate change that we refuse to acknowledge and try to correct. I pray for all victims of both natural and human-made circumstances. “Most of all, I pray that those of us who reside in relative safety have the goodness of heart and the inspiration of God to help in any way we can to make it possible for people who have lost so much to rebuild their lives and those of their neighbors.”
“Given this experience, I think it is very valuable to go back and re-read the actual text from time-to-time and not just rely on my memories of the stories of the Bible, especially since I’ve seen how my own inner-storyteller is willing to edit, adapt, and transform the narratives without my even realizing it.”
“Humility – an openness to what is really going on in our souls and the willingness to lay it all at God’s feet – is world-changing. God grant that we can find the ways to give ourselves up again and again to the work that leads to such wisdom.”
It wasn’t until I was in the ordination process and repeating it week after week that I finally and suddenly recognized my mother’s familiar, “Rise and shine!” as the Canticle for Morning Prayer on a Wednesday, coined not by a working woman but by the prophet, Isaiah, whose oracle has ever since elevated the memory of my mother’s theme song into something sublime.
“In this new season, call us to sit in your presence: an early morning to ourselves, the reading of your Gospels…”