When times get crazy, and it seems as though whatever can go wrong does go wrong, and your worry factor runs amuck, it is a lovely treat to come upon wise words like these...especially when you don't have to look for them, but they just pop up on your screen. Dear Wendell Berry, whose words have soothed us all for such a long long time, rests in peace now with a quiet heart and a clear eye I am certain, having found that place where forever "what we need is here."

“I take literally the statement in the Gospel of John that God loves the world. I believe that the world was created and approved by love, that it subsists, coheres, and endures by love, and that, insofar as it is redeemable, it can be redeemed only by love. I believe that divine love, incarnate and indwelling in the world, summons the world always toward wholeness, which ultimately is reconciliation and atonement with God.” Wendell Berry In Paul's 1st letter to the people o

"For a tree has hope: though cut down, it can still be removed, and its shoots will not cease. Though its root grow old in the ground and its stock die in the dust, from the scent of water it flowers, and puts forth branches like a sapling. But a strong man dies defeated, man breathes his last, and where is he?" Job 14. 6 - 10 The Hebrew Bible, Robert Alter As I read the lesson from Job appointed for today, I noticed "again for the first time" the conviction with which Job

The word “person” is derived from the ancient Greek term persona, which referred to the masks actors wore to represent certain humans, animals, or gods. In our daily lives, we habitually put on our own personas to suit particular situations. But unlike the actors and audience in ancient Greece who knew these were masks to be removed after the performance, we often get identified with our personas. We might routinely present the knowledgeable, capable mask or the anxious, inse

Almighty God, you have given your only Son to be for us... an example of godly life... Walking in the pouring rain with two large Golden Retrievers can be testy, especially with a cell phone and no pockets. But in my part of the world, the rain comes and goes quickly, and I was sure it would go as quickly as it had come. But not this morning. After 30 minutes of walking in it, I needed a break and popped into a friends porch, hoping it would pass. But when her dog started ba

He answered, “It is not fair to take the children’s food and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “Woman, great is your faith! Let it be done for you as you wish.” Matthew 15. 21 - 28 The gospel passage appointed for yesterday tells a confusing story about Jesus's treatment of a Canaanite woman who begs Jesus to heal her daughter. It is not fair to throw the children's foo

On this day in the Episcopal church, we remember Jonathan Myrick Daniels, seminarian and martyr, who shielded Ruby Sales in Selma, Alabama in 1965 from an assassin and was killed instantly by the 12-gauge blast. Of his time in Selma prior to his murder, Daniels said, "I began to know in my bones and sinews that I had been truly baptized into the Lord's death and resurrection with them, the black men and white men, with all life, in him whose Name is above all names that th

"Her love for Christ, her share in the vision of St. Francis and her extraordinary gifts a soul-guide, friend, and leader made her a shining light and a clear mirror of Christ for thousands in her lifetime and still a light and inspiration to Christians from many denominations today." Malcolm Guite In the depths of covid, on a zoom screen six years ago, I met my St. Clare friend. We had no friends in common, only a love for the written word and a love of nature. She lived on

Grant to us, Lord, we pray, the spirit to think and do always those things that are right, that we, who cannot exist without you, may by you be enabled to live according to your will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. The Collect appointed for this Sunday prays that by the power of the Holy Spirit, God will enable us to "think and do always those things that are right." Likewise, the quote abov

"Honor the Sabbath and keep it holy." Exodus 20. 8 Once a week, our Discipleship Group meets to check in with each other and renew the vows we believe enable us and encourage us to become better followers of Christ, "which happens naturally when we love him." We state at the beginning of our time together that " we become better followers of Jesus by holding each other in his love and by encouraging each other to practice the disciplines he teaches." We vow to practice the