Singing Along the Journey

Subversive practice

Telling the Sacred Story, Part 2

This is part 2 of my personal exercise with sacred story, using the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  To read part 1, click here. I have one more way that my life resonates with the story of Jacob, one that tells the story of something that is not yet for me complete. And that story is in Gen 32:22-32, the famous overnight wrestling match. Interpreters disagree – was Jacob wrestling with God, or an Angel, or with himself or...? The text is not specific, leaving those of us reading the story some 2000 years later plenty of room for creative interpretation. That is not really the part…
Read More

Called to remember…

This weekend, thanks to the inspired invitation and loving encouragement of my friend Martha Burford at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, I had the opportunity to step back into two parts of my life long dormant -- singing and preaching.  It was a healing time for me -- if you will keep reading, you will understand what I mean when I say that I had a chance to repair a breach of my own.  I will be forever grateful. The following words are my word about the Word, offered on February 9, 2020, at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington.  Thank you to Martha and to all the people at…
Read More

Practice, practice, practice…

That's right.  Yes, I spend much of my day looking through what an academic theologian might call my subversiveness hermeneutic.  That word hermeneutic is just, as my mother would have said, a $10 word for perspective or viewpoint.  To me, however, there is a difference -- the idea of hermeneutic (which comes from a Greek word meaning to translate or interpret) carries with it a level of intentionality that the idea of perspective or viewpoint does not. Now that we have that sorted out, I'm really writing because I have a question that I have been asking myself lately, one that just will not be silent.  And that question is: what…
Read More

Why do I talk about subversiveness all the time?

If you follow me on Twitter of Facebook or Instagram, you might, from time to time, see me share something inspirational that I've read or seen, with a comment such as "Have  a subversive Saturday," or "Truth and subversiveness, all in one package."  I must admit, I have an intense obsession with the idea of subversiveness, and, as it naturally follows, with the use of the word subversive. This focus began in the early days of my training in spiritual companionship.  Maybe you know how it goes -- you've been asked to read a book to prepare for a class or a meeting, and there is this one phrase, a phrase that…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 6: When Did You Know?

I remember the first time that I heard, really heard these words in church and believed them in every cell of my body:  "You are loved  Nothing can separate you from the love of God."  That is a kind of incarnated knowledge that changes everything for a person. That day, that knowledge set my feet in a new direction, one that I haltingly follow to this very day. I say haltingly because I, like any other human creature who catches a glimpse of this understanding, simply can't hold on to it every single moment.  I am at least lucky enough to know its possibilities.  And it is the power of…
Read More

Christmas 5: Let the Angels Sing

So far in our journey, we have pondered love, joy and wonder, beauty, and what it means to be the symbol of Christmas.  Today, we ponder the role of imagination in all of this.  We have good company in this pondering, because many before us have recognized the role of imagination in our faith life -- important guides from St. Ignatius to C. S. Lewis to the psychologist Carl Jung.  All have understood the role of imagination in lifting us from our human limitations to a place just a little closer to God.  As C. S. Lewis phrased it, "Reason is the natural organ of truth; imagination is the organ…
Read More

Telling the Sacred Story, Part 2

This is part 2 of my personal exercise with sacred story, using the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  To read part 1, click here. I have one more way that my life resonates with the story of Jacob, one that tells the story of something that is not yet for me complete. And that story is in Gen 32:22-32, the famous overnight wrestling match. Interpreters disagree – was Jacob wrestling with God, or an Angel, or with himself or...? The text is not specific, leaving those of us reading the story some 2000 years later plenty of room for creative interpretation. That is not really the part…
Read More

Called to remember…

This weekend, thanks to the inspired invitation and loving encouragement of my friend Martha Burford at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, I had the opportunity to step back into two parts of my life long dormant -- singing and preaching.  It was a healing time for me -- if you will keep reading, you will understand what I mean when I say that I had a chance to repair a breach of my own.  I will be forever grateful. The following words are my word about the Word, offered on February 9, 2020, at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington.  Thank you to Martha and to all the people at…
Read More

Practice, practice, practice…

That's right.  Yes, I spend much of my day looking through what an academic theologian might call my subversiveness hermeneutic.  That word hermeneutic is just, as my mother would have said, a $10 word for perspective or viewpoint.  To me, however, there is a difference -- the idea of hermeneutic (which comes from a Greek word meaning to translate or interpret) carries with it a level of intentionality that the idea of perspective or viewpoint does not. Now that we have that sorted out, I'm really writing because I have a question that I have been asking myself lately, one that just will not be silent.  And that question is: what…
Read More

Why do I talk about subversiveness all the time?

If you follow me on Twitter of Facebook or Instagram, you might, from time to time, see me share something inspirational that I've read or seen, with a comment such as "Have  a subversive Saturday," or "Truth and subversiveness, all in one package."  I must admit, I have an intense obsession with the idea of subversiveness, and, as it naturally follows, with the use of the word subversive. This focus began in the early days of my training in spiritual companionship.  Maybe you know how it goes -- you've been asked to read a book to prepare for a class or a meeting, and there is this one phrase, a phrase that…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 6: When Did You Know?

I remember the first time that I heard, really heard these words in church and believed them in every cell of my body:  "You are loved  Nothing can separate you from the love of God."  That is a kind of incarnated knowledge that changes everything for a person. That day, that knowledge set my feet in a new direction, one that I haltingly follow to this very day. I say haltingly because I, like any other human creature who catches a glimpse of this understanding, simply can't hold on to it every single moment.  I am at least lucky enough to know its possibilities.  And it is the power of…
Read More

Christmas 5: Let the Angels Sing

So far in our journey, we have pondered love, joy and wonder, beauty, and what it means to be the symbol of Christmas.  Today, we ponder the role of imagination in all of this.  We have good company in this pondering, because many before us have recognized the role of imagination in our faith life -- important guides from St. Ignatius to C. S. Lewis to the psychologist Carl Jung.  All have understood the role of imagination in lifting us from our human limitations to a place just a little closer to God.  As C. S. Lewis phrased it, "Reason is the natural organ of truth; imagination is the organ…
Read More

Telling the Sacred Story, Part 2

This is part 2 of my personal exercise with sacred story, using the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  To read part 1, click here. I have one more way that my life resonates with the story of Jacob, one that tells the story of something that is not yet for me complete. And that story is in Gen 32:22-32, the famous overnight wrestling match. Interpreters disagree – was Jacob wrestling with God, or an Angel, or with himself or...? The text is not specific, leaving those of us reading the story some 2000 years later plenty of room for creative interpretation. That is not really the part…
Read More

Called to remember…

This weekend, thanks to the inspired invitation and loving encouragement of my friend Martha Burford at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, I had the opportunity to step back into two parts of my life long dormant -- singing and preaching.  It was a healing time for me -- if you will keep reading, you will understand what I mean when I say that I had a chance to repair a breach of my own.  I will be forever grateful. The following words are my word about the Word, offered on February 9, 2020, at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington.  Thank you to Martha and to all the people at…
Read More

Practice, practice, practice…

That's right.  Yes, I spend much of my day looking through what an academic theologian might call my subversiveness hermeneutic.  That word hermeneutic is just, as my mother would have said, a $10 word for perspective or viewpoint.  To me, however, there is a difference -- the idea of hermeneutic (which comes from a Greek word meaning to translate or interpret) carries with it a level of intentionality that the idea of perspective or viewpoint does not. Now that we have that sorted out, I'm really writing because I have a question that I have been asking myself lately, one that just will not be silent.  And that question is: what…
Read More

Why do I talk about subversiveness all the time?

If you follow me on Twitter of Facebook or Instagram, you might, from time to time, see me share something inspirational that I've read or seen, with a comment such as "Have  a subversive Saturday," or "Truth and subversiveness, all in one package."  I must admit, I have an intense obsession with the idea of subversiveness, and, as it naturally follows, with the use of the word subversive. This focus began in the early days of my training in spiritual companionship.  Maybe you know how it goes -- you've been asked to read a book to prepare for a class or a meeting, and there is this one phrase, a phrase that…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 6: When Did You Know?

I remember the first time that I heard, really heard these words in church and believed them in every cell of my body:  "You are loved  Nothing can separate you from the love of God."  That is a kind of incarnated knowledge that changes everything for a person. That day, that knowledge set my feet in a new direction, one that I haltingly follow to this very day. I say haltingly because I, like any other human creature who catches a glimpse of this understanding, simply can't hold on to it every single moment.  I am at least lucky enough to know its possibilities.  And it is the power of…
Read More

Christmas 5: Let the Angels Sing

So far in our journey, we have pondered love, joy and wonder, beauty, and what it means to be the symbol of Christmas.  Today, we ponder the role of imagination in all of this.  We have good company in this pondering, because many before us have recognized the role of imagination in our faith life -- important guides from St. Ignatius to C. S. Lewis to the psychologist Carl Jung.  All have understood the role of imagination in lifting us from our human limitations to a place just a little closer to God.  As C. S. Lewis phrased it, "Reason is the natural organ of truth; imagination is the organ…
Read More

Telling the Sacred Story, Part 2

This is part 2 of my personal exercise with sacred story, using the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  To read part 1, click here. I have one more way that my life resonates with the story of Jacob, one that tells the story of something that is not yet for me complete. And that story is in Gen 32:22-32, the famous overnight wrestling match. Interpreters disagree – was Jacob wrestling with God, or an Angel, or with himself or...? The text is not specific, leaving those of us reading the story some 2000 years later plenty of room for creative interpretation. That is not really the part…
Read More

Called to remember…

This weekend, thanks to the inspired invitation and loving encouragement of my friend Martha Burford at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, I had the opportunity to step back into two parts of my life long dormant -- singing and preaching.  It was a healing time for me -- if you will keep reading, you will understand what I mean when I say that I had a chance to repair a breach of my own.  I will be forever grateful. The following words are my word about the Word, offered on February 9, 2020, at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington.  Thank you to Martha and to all the people at…
Read More

Practice, practice, practice…

That's right.  Yes, I spend much of my day looking through what an academic theologian might call my subversiveness hermeneutic.  That word hermeneutic is just, as my mother would have said, a $10 word for perspective or viewpoint.  To me, however, there is a difference -- the idea of hermeneutic (which comes from a Greek word meaning to translate or interpret) carries with it a level of intentionality that the idea of perspective or viewpoint does not. Now that we have that sorted out, I'm really writing because I have a question that I have been asking myself lately, one that just will not be silent.  And that question is: what…
Read More

Why do I talk about subversiveness all the time?

If you follow me on Twitter of Facebook or Instagram, you might, from time to time, see me share something inspirational that I've read or seen, with a comment such as "Have  a subversive Saturday," or "Truth and subversiveness, all in one package."  I must admit, I have an intense obsession with the idea of subversiveness, and, as it naturally follows, with the use of the word subversive. This focus began in the early days of my training in spiritual companionship.  Maybe you know how it goes -- you've been asked to read a book to prepare for a class or a meeting, and there is this one phrase, a phrase that…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 6: When Did You Know?

I remember the first time that I heard, really heard these words in church and believed them in every cell of my body:  "You are loved  Nothing can separate you from the love of God."  That is a kind of incarnated knowledge that changes everything for a person. That day, that knowledge set my feet in a new direction, one that I haltingly follow to this very day. I say haltingly because I, like any other human creature who catches a glimpse of this understanding, simply can't hold on to it every single moment.  I am at least lucky enough to know its possibilities.  And it is the power of…
Read More

Christmas 5: Let the Angels Sing

So far in our journey, we have pondered love, joy and wonder, beauty, and what it means to be the symbol of Christmas.  Today, we ponder the role of imagination in all of this.  We have good company in this pondering, because many before us have recognized the role of imagination in our faith life -- important guides from St. Ignatius to C. S. Lewis to the psychologist Carl Jung.  All have understood the role of imagination in lifting us from our human limitations to a place just a little closer to God.  As C. S. Lewis phrased it, "Reason is the natural organ of truth; imagination is the organ…
Read More

Telling the Sacred Story, Part 2

This is part 2 of my personal exercise with sacred story, using the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  To read part 1, click here. I have one more way that my life resonates with the story of Jacob, one that tells the story of something that is not yet for me complete. And that story is in Gen 32:22-32, the famous overnight wrestling match. Interpreters disagree – was Jacob wrestling with God, or an Angel, or with himself or...? The text is not specific, leaving those of us reading the story some 2000 years later plenty of room for creative interpretation. That is not really the part…
Read More

Called to remember…

This weekend, thanks to the inspired invitation and loving encouragement of my friend Martha Burford at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, I had the opportunity to step back into two parts of my life long dormant -- singing and preaching.  It was a healing time for me -- if you will keep reading, you will understand what I mean when I say that I had a chance to repair a breach of my own.  I will be forever grateful. The following words are my word about the Word, offered on February 9, 2020, at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington.  Thank you to Martha and to all the people at…
Read More

Practice, practice, practice…

That's right.  Yes, I spend much of my day looking through what an academic theologian might call my subversiveness hermeneutic.  That word hermeneutic is just, as my mother would have said, a $10 word for perspective or viewpoint.  To me, however, there is a difference -- the idea of hermeneutic (which comes from a Greek word meaning to translate or interpret) carries with it a level of intentionality that the idea of perspective or viewpoint does not. Now that we have that sorted out, I'm really writing because I have a question that I have been asking myself lately, one that just will not be silent.  And that question is: what…
Read More

Why do I talk about subversiveness all the time?

If you follow me on Twitter of Facebook or Instagram, you might, from time to time, see me share something inspirational that I've read or seen, with a comment such as "Have  a subversive Saturday," or "Truth and subversiveness, all in one package."  I must admit, I have an intense obsession with the idea of subversiveness, and, as it naturally follows, with the use of the word subversive. This focus began in the early days of my training in spiritual companionship.  Maybe you know how it goes -- you've been asked to read a book to prepare for a class or a meeting, and there is this one phrase, a phrase that…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 6: When Did You Know?

I remember the first time that I heard, really heard these words in church and believed them in every cell of my body:  "You are loved  Nothing can separate you from the love of God."  That is a kind of incarnated knowledge that changes everything for a person. That day, that knowledge set my feet in a new direction, one that I haltingly follow to this very day. I say haltingly because I, like any other human creature who catches a glimpse of this understanding, simply can't hold on to it every single moment.  I am at least lucky enough to know its possibilities.  And it is the power of…
Read More

Christmas 5: Let the Angels Sing

So far in our journey, we have pondered love, joy and wonder, beauty, and what it means to be the symbol of Christmas.  Today, we ponder the role of imagination in all of this.  We have good company in this pondering, because many before us have recognized the role of imagination in our faith life -- important guides from St. Ignatius to C. S. Lewis to the psychologist Carl Jung.  All have understood the role of imagination in lifting us from our human limitations to a place just a little closer to God.  As C. S. Lewis phrased it, "Reason is the natural organ of truth; imagination is the organ…
Read More

Telling the Sacred Story, Part 2

This is part 2 of my personal exercise with sacred story, using the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  To read part 1, click here. I have one more way that my life resonates with the story of Jacob, one that tells the story of something that is not yet for me complete. And that story is in Gen 32:22-32, the famous overnight wrestling match. Interpreters disagree – was Jacob wrestling with God, or an Angel, or with himself or...? The text is not specific, leaving those of us reading the story some 2000 years later plenty of room for creative interpretation. That is not really the part…
Read More

Called to remember…

This weekend, thanks to the inspired invitation and loving encouragement of my friend Martha Burford at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, I had the opportunity to step back into two parts of my life long dormant -- singing and preaching.  It was a healing time for me -- if you will keep reading, you will understand what I mean when I say that I had a chance to repair a breach of my own.  I will be forever grateful. The following words are my word about the Word, offered on February 9, 2020, at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington.  Thank you to Martha and to all the people at…
Read More

Practice, practice, practice…

That's right.  Yes, I spend much of my day looking through what an academic theologian might call my subversiveness hermeneutic.  That word hermeneutic is just, as my mother would have said, a $10 word for perspective or viewpoint.  To me, however, there is a difference -- the idea of hermeneutic (which comes from a Greek word meaning to translate or interpret) carries with it a level of intentionality that the idea of perspective or viewpoint does not. Now that we have that sorted out, I'm really writing because I have a question that I have been asking myself lately, one that just will not be silent.  And that question is: what…
Read More

Why do I talk about subversiveness all the time?

If you follow me on Twitter of Facebook or Instagram, you might, from time to time, see me share something inspirational that I've read or seen, with a comment such as "Have  a subversive Saturday," or "Truth and subversiveness, all in one package."  I must admit, I have an intense obsession with the idea of subversiveness, and, as it naturally follows, with the use of the word subversive. This focus began in the early days of my training in spiritual companionship.  Maybe you know how it goes -- you've been asked to read a book to prepare for a class or a meeting, and there is this one phrase, a phrase that…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 6: When Did You Know?

I remember the first time that I heard, really heard these words in church and believed them in every cell of my body:  "You are loved  Nothing can separate you from the love of God."  That is a kind of incarnated knowledge that changes everything for a person. That day, that knowledge set my feet in a new direction, one that I haltingly follow to this very day. I say haltingly because I, like any other human creature who catches a glimpse of this understanding, simply can't hold on to it every single moment.  I am at least lucky enough to know its possibilities.  And it is the power of…
Read More

Christmas 5: Let the Angels Sing

So far in our journey, we have pondered love, joy and wonder, beauty, and what it means to be the symbol of Christmas.  Today, we ponder the role of imagination in all of this.  We have good company in this pondering, because many before us have recognized the role of imagination in our faith life -- important guides from St. Ignatius to C. S. Lewis to the psychologist Carl Jung.  All have understood the role of imagination in lifting us from our human limitations to a place just a little closer to God.  As C. S. Lewis phrased it, "Reason is the natural organ of truth; imagination is the organ…
Read More

Telling the Sacred Story, Part 2

This is part 2 of my personal exercise with sacred story, using the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  To read part 1, click here. I have one more way that my life resonates with the story of Jacob, one that tells the story of something that is not yet for me complete. And that story is in Gen 32:22-32, the famous overnight wrestling match. Interpreters disagree – was Jacob wrestling with God, or an Angel, or with himself or...? The text is not specific, leaving those of us reading the story some 2000 years later plenty of room for creative interpretation. That is not really the part…
Read More

Called to remember…

This weekend, thanks to the inspired invitation and loving encouragement of my friend Martha Burford at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, I had the opportunity to step back into two parts of my life long dormant -- singing and preaching.  It was a healing time for me -- if you will keep reading, you will understand what I mean when I say that I had a chance to repair a breach of my own.  I will be forever grateful. The following words are my word about the Word, offered on February 9, 2020, at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington.  Thank you to Martha and to all the people at…
Read More

Practice, practice, practice…

That's right.  Yes, I spend much of my day looking through what an academic theologian might call my subversiveness hermeneutic.  That word hermeneutic is just, as my mother would have said, a $10 word for perspective or viewpoint.  To me, however, there is a difference -- the idea of hermeneutic (which comes from a Greek word meaning to translate or interpret) carries with it a level of intentionality that the idea of perspective or viewpoint does not. Now that we have that sorted out, I'm really writing because I have a question that I have been asking myself lately, one that just will not be silent.  And that question is: what…
Read More

Why do I talk about subversiveness all the time?

If you follow me on Twitter of Facebook or Instagram, you might, from time to time, see me share something inspirational that I've read or seen, with a comment such as "Have  a subversive Saturday," or "Truth and subversiveness, all in one package."  I must admit, I have an intense obsession with the idea of subversiveness, and, as it naturally follows, with the use of the word subversive. This focus began in the early days of my training in spiritual companionship.  Maybe you know how it goes -- you've been asked to read a book to prepare for a class or a meeting, and there is this one phrase, a phrase that…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 6: When Did You Know?

I remember the first time that I heard, really heard these words in church and believed them in every cell of my body:  "You are loved  Nothing can separate you from the love of God."  That is a kind of incarnated knowledge that changes everything for a person. That day, that knowledge set my feet in a new direction, one that I haltingly follow to this very day. I say haltingly because I, like any other human creature who catches a glimpse of this understanding, simply can't hold on to it every single moment.  I am at least lucky enough to know its possibilities.  And it is the power of…
Read More

Christmas 5: Let the Angels Sing

So far in our journey, we have pondered love, joy and wonder, beauty, and what it means to be the symbol of Christmas.  Today, we ponder the role of imagination in all of this.  We have good company in this pondering, because many before us have recognized the role of imagination in our faith life -- important guides from St. Ignatius to C. S. Lewis to the psychologist Carl Jung.  All have understood the role of imagination in lifting us from our human limitations to a place just a little closer to God.  As C. S. Lewis phrased it, "Reason is the natural organ of truth; imagination is the organ…
Read More

Telling the Sacred Story, Part 2

This is part 2 of my personal exercise with sacred story, using the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  To read part 1, click here. I have one more way that my life resonates with the story of Jacob, one that tells the story of something that is not yet for me complete. And that story is in Gen 32:22-32, the famous overnight wrestling match. Interpreters disagree – was Jacob wrestling with God, or an Angel, or with himself or...? The text is not specific, leaving those of us reading the story some 2000 years later plenty of room for creative interpretation. That is not really the part…
Read More

Called to remember…

This weekend, thanks to the inspired invitation and loving encouragement of my friend Martha Burford at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, I had the opportunity to step back into two parts of my life long dormant -- singing and preaching.  It was a healing time for me -- if you will keep reading, you will understand what I mean when I say that I had a chance to repair a breach of my own.  I will be forever grateful. The following words are my word about the Word, offered on February 9, 2020, at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington.  Thank you to Martha and to all the people at…
Read More

Practice, practice, practice…

That's right.  Yes, I spend much of my day looking through what an academic theologian might call my subversiveness hermeneutic.  That word hermeneutic is just, as my mother would have said, a $10 word for perspective or viewpoint.  To me, however, there is a difference -- the idea of hermeneutic (which comes from a Greek word meaning to translate or interpret) carries with it a level of intentionality that the idea of perspective or viewpoint does not. Now that we have that sorted out, I'm really writing because I have a question that I have been asking myself lately, one that just will not be silent.  And that question is: what…
Read More

Why do I talk about subversiveness all the time?

If you follow me on Twitter of Facebook or Instagram, you might, from time to time, see me share something inspirational that I've read or seen, with a comment such as "Have  a subversive Saturday," or "Truth and subversiveness, all in one package."  I must admit, I have an intense obsession with the idea of subversiveness, and, as it naturally follows, with the use of the word subversive. This focus began in the early days of my training in spiritual companionship.  Maybe you know how it goes -- you've been asked to read a book to prepare for a class or a meeting, and there is this one phrase, a phrase that…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 6: When Did You Know?

I remember the first time that I heard, really heard these words in church and believed them in every cell of my body:  "You are loved  Nothing can separate you from the love of God."  That is a kind of incarnated knowledge that changes everything for a person. That day, that knowledge set my feet in a new direction, one that I haltingly follow to this very day. I say haltingly because I, like any other human creature who catches a glimpse of this understanding, simply can't hold on to it every single moment.  I am at least lucky enough to know its possibilities.  And it is the power of…
Read More

Christmas 5: Let the Angels Sing

So far in our journey, we have pondered love, joy and wonder, beauty, and what it means to be the symbol of Christmas.  Today, we ponder the role of imagination in all of this.  We have good company in this pondering, because many before us have recognized the role of imagination in our faith life -- important guides from St. Ignatius to C. S. Lewis to the psychologist Carl Jung.  All have understood the role of imagination in lifting us from our human limitations to a place just a little closer to God.  As C. S. Lewis phrased it, "Reason is the natural organ of truth; imagination is the organ…
Read More

Telling the Sacred Story, Part 2

This is part 2 of my personal exercise with sacred story, using the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  To read part 1, click here. I have one more way that my life resonates with the story of Jacob, one that tells the story of something that is not yet for me complete. And that story is in Gen 32:22-32, the famous overnight wrestling match. Interpreters disagree – was Jacob wrestling with God, or an Angel, or with himself or...? The text is not specific, leaving those of us reading the story some 2000 years later plenty of room for creative interpretation. That is not really the part…
Read More

Called to remember…

This weekend, thanks to the inspired invitation and loving encouragement of my friend Martha Burford at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, I had the opportunity to step back into two parts of my life long dormant -- singing and preaching.  It was a healing time for me -- if you will keep reading, you will understand what I mean when I say that I had a chance to repair a breach of my own.  I will be forever grateful. The following words are my word about the Word, offered on February 9, 2020, at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington.  Thank you to Martha and to all the people at…
Read More

Practice, practice, practice…

That's right.  Yes, I spend much of my day looking through what an academic theologian might call my subversiveness hermeneutic.  That word hermeneutic is just, as my mother would have said, a $10 word for perspective or viewpoint.  To me, however, there is a difference -- the idea of hermeneutic (which comes from a Greek word meaning to translate or interpret) carries with it a level of intentionality that the idea of perspective or viewpoint does not. Now that we have that sorted out, I'm really writing because I have a question that I have been asking myself lately, one that just will not be silent.  And that question is: what…
Read More

Why do I talk about subversiveness all the time?

If you follow me on Twitter of Facebook or Instagram, you might, from time to time, see me share something inspirational that I've read or seen, with a comment such as "Have  a subversive Saturday," or "Truth and subversiveness, all in one package."  I must admit, I have an intense obsession with the idea of subversiveness, and, as it naturally follows, with the use of the word subversive. This focus began in the early days of my training in spiritual companionship.  Maybe you know how it goes -- you've been asked to read a book to prepare for a class or a meeting, and there is this one phrase, a phrase that…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 6: When Did You Know?

I remember the first time that I heard, really heard these words in church and believed them in every cell of my body:  "You are loved  Nothing can separate you from the love of God."  That is a kind of incarnated knowledge that changes everything for a person. That day, that knowledge set my feet in a new direction, one that I haltingly follow to this very day. I say haltingly because I, like any other human creature who catches a glimpse of this understanding, simply can't hold on to it every single moment.  I am at least lucky enough to know its possibilities.  And it is the power of…
Read More

Christmas 5: Let the Angels Sing

So far in our journey, we have pondered love, joy and wonder, beauty, and what it means to be the symbol of Christmas.  Today, we ponder the role of imagination in all of this.  We have good company in this pondering, because many before us have recognized the role of imagination in our faith life -- important guides from St. Ignatius to C. S. Lewis to the psychologist Carl Jung.  All have understood the role of imagination in lifting us from our human limitations to a place just a little closer to God.  As C. S. Lewis phrased it, "Reason is the natural organ of truth; imagination is the organ…
Read More

Telling the Sacred Story, Part 2

This is part 2 of my personal exercise with sacred story, using the story of Jacob from the book of Genesis.  To read part 1, click here. I have one more way that my life resonates with the story of Jacob, one that tells the story of something that is not yet for me complete. And that story is in Gen 32:22-32, the famous overnight wrestling match. Interpreters disagree – was Jacob wrestling with God, or an Angel, or with himself or...? The text is not specific, leaving those of us reading the story some 2000 years later plenty of room for creative interpretation. That is not really the part…
Read More

Called to remember…

This weekend, thanks to the inspired invitation and loving encouragement of my friend Martha Burford at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington, VA, I had the opportunity to step back into two parts of my life long dormant -- singing and preaching.  It was a healing time for me -- if you will keep reading, you will understand what I mean when I say that I had a chance to repair a breach of my own.  I will be forever grateful. The following words are my word about the Word, offered on February 9, 2020, at Grace Episcopal Church in Lexington.  Thank you to Martha and to all the people at…
Read More

Practice, practice, practice…

That's right.  Yes, I spend much of my day looking through what an academic theologian might call my subversiveness hermeneutic.  That word hermeneutic is just, as my mother would have said, a $10 word for perspective or viewpoint.  To me, however, there is a difference -- the idea of hermeneutic (which comes from a Greek word meaning to translate or interpret) carries with it a level of intentionality that the idea of perspective or viewpoint does not. Now that we have that sorted out, I'm really writing because I have a question that I have been asking myself lately, one that just will not be silent.  And that question is: what…
Read More

Why do I talk about subversiveness all the time?

If you follow me on Twitter of Facebook or Instagram, you might, from time to time, see me share something inspirational that I've read or seen, with a comment such as "Have  a subversive Saturday," or "Truth and subversiveness, all in one package."  I must admit, I have an intense obsession with the idea of subversiveness, and, as it naturally follows, with the use of the word subversive. This focus began in the early days of my training in spiritual companionship.  Maybe you know how it goes -- you've been asked to read a book to prepare for a class or a meeting, and there is this one phrase, a phrase that…
Read More

Christmas 12: The Work Goes On

And with that, we come to the end of our 12 day journey together.  And at last, we tackle the title of Bruce Epperly's collection of reflections that have guided us.  Today, we consider our benediction. There was a plan to these days of words -- it was the plan of preparation.  Together, we have thought about the qualities of Christmas, like joy and wonder, and love.  Together, we have looked at what it means to let Christmas be something alive in us, not just a day or even a season.  And together, we have thought about the many obstacles in the way of living a Christmas-fueled life. Today, in…
Read More

Christmas 11: A Vision of Something More

A vision of something more...isn't that what this gift of Christmas is all about?  Today, as Bruce Epperly again tackles the meaning of the Christmas season through the words of theologian Howard Thurman and his work The Mood of Christmas,  that is what we consider.  Thurman calls us to stand on "the growing edge" of our lives: Look well to the growing edge!  All around us worlds are dying and new worlds are being born; all around us life is dying and life is being born. The fruit ripens on the tree; the roots are silently at work in the darkness of the earth against a time when there shall be new leaves,…
Read More

Christmas 8: Every Day is Christmas

I'll be honest -- it becomes more and more difficult to hold the Christmas thread as the days between December 25 and today grow in number. And even harder when the world around you is shouting "Happy New Year!" and preparing to go back to their routines of work and whatever tomorrow morning.  I suppose this is where the concept of the great both/and comes into play -- for today is indeed still Christmas and it is also the first day of a brand, spanking-new calendar year.  So, Happy New Year, and again, Merry Christmas. I am not surprised that Bruce Epperly captures this tension in his reflection today in The…
Read More

Christmas 7: Wounds into Windows

We are halfway along our journey through the 12 days of Christmas with theologians Bruce Epperly and Howard Thurman.  Or, if you prefer, we are on the "seven swans a-swimming" verse of the old song.  It is also, for many of us, New Year's Eve, that time when we kiss (or kick) the old year into history and welcome our perception of a new slate of living, where we will be more responsible, more fit, thinner, and all-around-better-off. So I am not surprised to find that Epperly has chosen a passage for reflection that reminds us of the every day things in the story we are telling, in particular, the…
Read More

Christmas 6: When Did You Know?

I remember the first time that I heard, really heard these words in church and believed them in every cell of my body:  "You are loved  Nothing can separate you from the love of God."  That is a kind of incarnated knowledge that changes everything for a person. That day, that knowledge set my feet in a new direction, one that I haltingly follow to this very day. I say haltingly because I, like any other human creature who catches a glimpse of this understanding, simply can't hold on to it every single moment.  I am at least lucky enough to know its possibilities.  And it is the power of…
Read More

Christmas 5: Let the Angels Sing

So far in our journey, we have pondered love, joy and wonder, beauty, and what it means to be the symbol of Christmas.  Today, we ponder the role of imagination in all of this.  We have good company in this pondering, because many before us have recognized the role of imagination in our faith life -- important guides from St. Ignatius to C. S. Lewis to the psychologist Carl Jung.  All have understood the role of imagination in lifting us from our human limitations to a place just a little closer to God.  As C. S. Lewis phrased it, "Reason is the natural organ of truth; imagination is the organ…
Read More