On the longest night
A service of hope for the longest night, 21st December 2022, Matthew 1:18-25 Sometimes I envy Joseph the certainty of his dreams. He...
View ArticleWords that do not pass away
I do not remember well my mother’s voice any more; the soprano on the cd is younger than I knew her. What I carry buried deep within my skull are nursery rhymes and nonsense that emerge like sea...
View ArticleThe promise of apocalypse
Did you see the sun this morning? It was as pale and flat and solid as a full moon. Still, I didn’t dare watch it for too long, in case the misty clouds should suddenly part and its full brightness...
View ArticleJohn, the post-traumatic prophet
A voice cries out from the razed earth, wilderness born of the scouring rage of Herod and his descendants, ancestors and antecedents A voice cries out, infant prophet unsoothed by honey, hoarse from...
View ArticleNot in glory
Not in glory but in the gloom of winter glimmers a light born of love, warmed by love, worshipped by angels; humble beginnings swaddled and held close promise the earth and deliver the heavens.
View ArticleLucy and the Light of the World
A homily for Evensong at Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio If there were no space between the stars, we would not know their light. They shine in our vision, twinkle on our retinas, because they are...
View ArticleThe great forerunner
A star is a miraculous being, born of the infalling of dust and ashes, the sacred debris of creation set aflame on the altar of nightfall; A miracle blazing by night, as dawn breaks open the path of...
View ArticleRejoice, repent, renew
I had a realization on Tuesday evening that our Bible Study group witnessed me coming to in real time: that John the Baptist was an Episcopalian. In our daily office prayers, and even in our Sunday...
View ArticleNothing is impossible
If nothing is impossible with God, what can be trusted? The sun may lose its grip on heaven, fall helpless to the ocean, sink or set the world aflame, melting its willing, molten heart. Birds of prey...
View ArticleAdvent IV: Impossible love
Either the angel knew more than they were telling, and were sparing Mary’s feelings for the moment, or perhaps Gabriel really only saw the glory of the coming Christ, the throne, the kingdom, the...
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