A Sunday Reflection for the Second Sunday in Lent.The lectionary readings for today are here. On this second Sunday in Lent, I’m drawn back to the invitation to Lent we read on Ash Wednesday: “I invite you, therefore, in the name of the Church, to the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance;Continue reading “Are We Willing?”
Tag Archives: Lent
Wilderness Time
A sermon preached at St. Francis by the Lake, Canyon Lake, TX.The lectionary readings for the First Sunday in Lent are here. What does the word wilderness conjure up for you? Fear, anticipation, peace? A week from tomorrow, Jim and I are heading out to our favorite wilderness: Terlingua Ranch, near Big Bend. We haveContinue reading “Wilderness Time”
Fire is Kindled
For me, the most significant sentence in the Book of Common Prayer is the rubric at the beginning of the Great Easter Vigil: In the darkness, fire is kindled. The Vigil is observed sometime between sundown on Holy Saturday and sunrise on Easter Sunday. Before the procession begins, the clergy make a small fire fromContinue reading “Fire is Kindled”
In the Dark
On this Holy Saturday, we wait in darkness with the women and disciples. We have the privilege of knowing what’s next, but image that we don’t. Sit with them in the finality of the death of the one who preached peace and freedom, who spoke of salvation from the darkness and is now dead inContinue reading “In the Dark”
The Goodness of Friday
In five short days, the celebratory cheers and impromptu parade of Palm Sunday have morphed to angry crowds demanding a drama of vengeance directed by fear and produced by hate. The people who had shouted Hosanna now stand with the leaders from whom they had wanted to be rescued. They had asked for freedom butContinue reading “The Goodness of Friday”
The Footwashing Way
The Thursday before Easter is called Maundy Thursday. The word Maundy comes from the Latin mandatum and refers to the mandate, the new commandment Jesus gives to love one another as he loves us. On this day we commemorate the final meal that Jesus had with his disciples before his arrest. Many congregations also offerContinue reading “The Footwashing Way”
Economy of Relationship
The third test with which Satan tries to get Jesus to be less than he is a test we face every single day. Satan tells Jesus: All this will be yours if you forget who you are. And, the joke’s on Satan – the whole world, all of creation, already belongs to God, even ifContinue reading “Economy of Relationship”
God will Catch Us
Since you are God’s Son, jump. This is the second of the three tests with which Satan attempts to get Jesus to be who he’s not, to accept less than what God gives us. From the highest point, from the top of the temple, Satan says, “Jump and God will catch you.” There’s a bigContinue reading “God will Catch Us”
A Test of Identity
Our life is a balance of physical and spiritual and we need to feed and care for our whole and holy humanness. Even if we were to feast regularly on the finest of foods, we would not be fully alive without also regularly feeding on God’s word so that we are equipped to see through a Kingdom lens.
Kingdom Crazy
So I know a few of you think that after yesterday’s post that I’ve lost my marbles. How can any sane person equate chores and spirituality? And what does washing dishes or doing laundry have to do with our Lenten Journey? In one of my pre-Lent posts, I asked us to consider Jesus’ question, “doContinue reading “Kingdom Crazy”
Mother Nancy's Coffee Thoughts 