“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?”
“I want the church I lead to do our part, working with other faith communities, to bring some good out of the nightmare we’ve been in, to wrench grace from unspeakable tragedy, to make real and meaningful restitution for the sins of that past that are still visited on far too many, to rid however we can our institutions of embedded racism. Outrage is not enough. People of faith must unite in action to drive lasting change for justice and healing in our country.”
“Dominating regimes will fall. They fall not because people are good. They fall because the planet was created VERY good. It seems to be a living organism. Something is connecting the good of the planet between people and between all living things.”
“We create our ecstasy and we create our peace. And when we choose anesthetizing addictions we dull the light as well as the darkness.”
“Particularly in these days of pandemic, we should recognize God’s presence in all that serves to nurture life. This means that the divine is present to and with us in all those who are working to address and alleviate the public health crisis and assist with economic recovery. It also means that grace should be recognized as capable of transcending virtual boundaries therefore granting online worship greater sacramental significance in these strange times. In this sense, the Eucharist comes with us even as we remain in isolation from its physical presence. Since we are unsure how long the threat of the pandemic will last, this will allow us to more effectively navigate our status as communities in isolation.”
“This album was recorded in the Spring of 2020, the compositions on this album began as a series of Lent meditations on the spiritual life.”
“At a pause from daily life
When all grows quiet and still
When you have brought yourself to a peaceful pause in the seeming doldrums of this life
And beginning to see things as they truly are
There comes a clamoring…”
“So now I bake bread at home. I have time to mix and wait and kneed and wait and kneed and wait and bake. And I eat the hot bread with wine at night but in the morning – especially Sunday mornings, I eat the hot bread with salted butter made by Irish people and cows with raspberry jam which reminds me more of blood than the wine ever did. Or my sins.”
“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words.”