Category: The Magazine

As I marveled at this, a new bird flew up and sat on the wire – only this one was facing the opposite direction.  “That’s me”, I thought – the one who is always turned around, never quite facing the right way.  But, in less than a second, that bird hopped up, turned around, and landed on the wire facing the same direction as the rest of the birds.  Soon, another bird arrived, and then another, and the same thing happened each time: the bird landed facing the wrong direction, hopped up, and turned around.

My gumbo represents my desire to adhere to the rules and my tendency to question them. Honoring tradition, it harnesses my own primal instincts as co-creator with God. It celebrates the goodness of our very essence along with our brokenness. It offers endless opportunities to grow and change, to be reborn again and again through its muddy waters. Batch by batch, the thin places of my life grow more and more transparent, loved ones in my dream world inch closer, and the desires of my heart wait eagerly in the caverns of my own callused hands.
No two batches are the same, but the flavors of love overflow.

I stand by my original declaration: People are kind. However, today, Good Friday, is the opportunity for legitimate rebuttal. There is a legitimate rebuttal to the proposal that people are kind, and that rebuttal is the phenomenon we call Good Friday, remembering the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.

In the distant future, the Church has become a footnote in earth’s history. Its one remaining cathedral serves more frequently as a tourist attraction than

This pandemic year has given me a new perspective on Emmanuel (God with us) for there are moments when the most raw and intimate connections are rooted in presence. There are times when grief is so over-whelming that there are no words. There are times when strength known in self and others can waver. There can even be moments when hope seems to vanish and only presence remains.          

The descriptions of love in the famous verses, were specifically aimed at partisan, conflicted, badly-behaving Corinthians. In the ancient world. to be called a Corinthian was to be called a person out for trouble, fractious, impious, self-directed to the point of rejecting any authority beyond oneself. A touchy, edgy, difficult community made up the young church in Corinth.

If you are in any kind of leadership position within your parish, whether it be clergy, staff or even a well-known volunteer, people will look to you for guidance. Rabbi Cytron-Walker was praised for his clear thinking and steadfastness as the situation unfolded over eleven hours. Would you be prepared to be thrust in the same role?

Spoiler alert: If you want to see Don’t Look Up with innocent eyes, watch the movie before reading this. It is currently streaming on Netflix.

As a chaplain, isolation has forced me to face my own limitations and inadequacies. I think this is the challenge for many if not all health care workers who treat COVID+ patients. As hard as I try, the COVID death usually occurs in ways completely opposite to my training and experience. We try our best through phone calls and ZOOM, yet we acknowledge that our best is less than our previous norm.    

It is not a time to model a stoic, machismo or even martyr-like demeanor.  To confront such tendencies, I have made a conscious practice of encouraging staff to take time away to recharge and enjoy life. During Halloween, I made a habit of asking young parents the costumes and creatures their little ones dressed up as and seeing pictures as often as possible. I am taking the week after Thanksgiving for a time of rest and renewal and I am telling everyone that will listen about my plans. Encouraging them to think about a similar time away.