Devotional Nov 2 2021
Psalm 61, 62; Neh. 12:27-31a,42b-47; Rev. 11:1-19; Matt. 13:44-52 A treasure in a field. A perfect pearl in a pile of duds. A net sweeping up all sorts of flotsam, jetsam and fish. Seeds cast onto soil, a woman hunting for lost coins, a wedding feast boycotted by the social pages and attended by […]
Devotional Nov 1 2021
Psalm 24; Wisdom of Solomon 3:1-9 or Isaiah 25:6-9; Revelation 21:1-6a; John 11:32-44 ALL SAINTS’ DAY Looking for some All Saints’ art? The Gubser triptych in our parish house entry surrounds Christ with 24 saints of all times and cultures, many of them painted from photos…. I don’t quite grasp what we mean when we […]
Devotional Oct 30 2021
Psalm 55; Neh. 4:1-23; Rev. 7:4-17; Matt. 13:31-35 With your permission, let’s go off topic (although Revelation is in today’s reading list, so spooky and ghoulish isn’t entirely off-topic, right?). Let’s talk about Hallowe’en and honesty. Every year I hear a lot of amped-up anxiety about Hallowe’en. It’s the devil’s day! It’s the survival of […]
Devotional Oct 29 2021
Psalm 40, 54; Neh. 2:1-20; Rev. 6:12-7:4; Matt. 13:24-30 First, a quick note: Tobiah the Ammonite servant left behind a long line of descendants who continued to serve as the effective feudal lords of northern Jordan for centuries after Nehemiah was written. If you’re lucky enough to be in that beautiful area of the […]
Daily Devotional Oct 23 2021
Psalm 30, 32; Ezra 4:7,11-24; Philemon 1-25; Matt. 12:33-42 There’s a tiny bit of a pun going on in Philemon. Greek has undergone a number of what are called “vowel shifts” through its long history, with sounds changing in people’s mouth but staying the same in writing. So, for instance, classical Greek has two “e” […]
Daily Devotional Oct 21 2021
Psalm 37; Ezra 1:1-11; 1 Cor. 16:1-9; Matt. 12:15-21 Jesus is very shy of the cameras. He’s always telling His followers to hush up the p.r. campaign, trying to avoid the limelight, running off into the desert for a prayer weekend instead of performing some front-page miracle. For those of us who live in a […]
Daily Devotional Oct 18 2021
Psalm 147; Ecclesiasticus 38:1-4,6-10,12-14; 2 Timothy 4:5-13; Luke 4:14-21 ST LUKE Did you know Luke was a doctor (Colossians 4:14)? That is why so many hospitals and nursing homes, especially Episcopalian ones, are named in his honor. Based on the traditional ascription of Luke-Acts to his pen, a lot of scholars believe that he […]
Daily Devotional Oct 12 2021
Psalm 5, 6; Jer. 36:27-37:2; 1 Cor. 14:1-12; Matt. 10:16-23 We spend so much time preparing our defenses in advance: it’s like our daily lives are jury trials and we’re always trying to win the box to our side. Instead of listening and trying to understand, we spend our time not listening and trying […]
Daily Devotional Oct 11 2021
Psalm 1, 2, 3; Jer. 36:11-26; 1 Cor. 13:1-13; Matt. 10:5-15 It’s all love, friends. If you are right but unloving, it doesn’t matter. If you are eloquent and persuasive and have everyone eating out of your pocket but unloving, it doesn’t matter. If you are within your rights and completely justified in your […]
Daily Devotional Oct 7 2021
Psalm 131, 132, 133; 2 Kings 23:4-25; 1 Cor. 12:1-11; Matt. 9:18-26 ‘Your faith has made you well.’ How we strive to turn that into ‘your strongly felt wishes have given you what you want.’ But faith and wishful thinking aren’t the same thing, not at all. I can want and wish and dream […]