The Gospel reading for today’s first Sunday of Advent is our seasonal realignment to get our priorities right; warning against the addictive nature of worldly wealth and what true riches actually are. Today’s parable is the story of a man who amassed greater and greater wealth, only to have has life taken away before he…
What is true of writing is also true of the spiritual life. Nouns clutter, verbs move and inspire. Before Thanksgiving, Advent & Christmas were nouns, collections of things, they were verbs-powerful movements of the grace of God.
This again is not a question of prohibitions, but of priorities. Have your holiday spiced latte. Put dozens of giant inflatable lawn ornaments in your yard like my neighbor. Buy a bunch of gifts for yourself and your loved ones. But make sure you don’t buy into what you are buying, don’t live your life…
Christianity is first and foremost an applied religion, and so therefore like all things on earth, there is a seasonality to our church and spiritual life. Today we begin the season of Advent, fifty days of learning to hold loosely the things of this world and hold fast to the one thing needed. ‘Seek first…
Our church calendar teaches us how to let go and grow. Our services of the hours prepares us for daily rest. Our days of abstinence on Wednesday and Friday make space for weekly Sabbath. The great fasts of our church, Advent and Easter, remind us that we are not machines, to live most fully, we…
Our focus for reflection for all of Advent, in sync with our entire Diocese, has been ‘leaning into hope.’ In doing so, we are seeking to recover something very specific our church believes about hope, which is more than optimism and does not depend on if things are going well today or look good tomorrow.…
‘The soul grows not by addition but by subtraction,’ said German Theologian Meister Eckhart. This ancient eastern wisdom is such a welcome counter balance to our modern western culture which seems only to be interested in a life of addition; more, more and even more. Especially at this time of year; our shopping carts are…