Blessed be God who animates our lives and in the midst of chaos, offers us opportunities to testify to God’s great and good grace and in so doing save our souls.AMEN I struggled with today’s Gospel, especially struggling to find a message consistent with the beautiful opportunity to baptize dear Caleb! Fact of the matter is after reading the first 2/3 of Luke’s account I thought about punting to the prophet Isaiah and images of new earth, new heaven….now that is consistent with new life and baptism…right?   That, however, felt like cherry picking and ignoring context. I believe God intends for us to wrestle and be uncomfortable even on the most glorious of days. To come through the struggle; even scathed can be deeply meaningful and even liberating ultimately. And so I tried and tried again. I let the account of destruction, persecution and insurrection sink into my bones and realized how timely   the news of death and destruction indeed might be in contemporary terms. ...

  Events of the last week, not necessarily different as much as just too much, have blessedly held me in that space of pause and reflection seeking some glimmer of hope in ordinary, albeit cloudy, moments. I feel called to “wade in the water” even though that water is troubled. I feel grace. I have been blessed with some time to be very still, very quiet, and to listen. Not to the cacophonous news feeds, nor to the sounds of screams and weapons, but to the rhythmic lapping of the bay and the awakening precise bird calls. In this silence I hear those still small voices and they offer encouragement even as I am choking tears.  I took a walk in the October blueness, more crystalline than blurry, and met a falling leaf. I watched its dance to the ground; I felt it echo in my body. It felt liturgical, we were witnesses to something momentous and magical together. Not only I, but also it, was becoming and returning to a Source which transcends injustice and corruption. So as I conti...

  I have been unpacking boxes lately by MT These are mostly boxes of papers and files The ones I “knew” I would need someday. And now, years later, I didn’t know they were there! I hadn’t missed them. Not like I missed Hope! This unpacking process reminds me of hope, Storing it away for a critical day Then not sure what container it is in (Those transparent ones really help!?) What I am finding amongst the papers are files stuffed with old sermons  Or articles on resurrection And I am trying to stay positive  in my overwhelmedness  I am so sure there is an answer or inspiration  Stored in there somewhere This is not like hope, I fear, Hope is not an aging item Hope cannot be put in storage to be dusted off For the day of unjust invasion Hope needs to be cultivated  And ready No matter what Cultivated Nurtured Like the muscle which it is Hope needs a regular routine It needs to be stretched and strengthened I believe that gratitude and compassion  Mercy...