Overcome evil with good
4 Search for the Lord and his strength; *continually seek his face. 5 Remember the marvels he has done, *his wonders and the judgments of his mouth Last week in our reading from Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus and his followers have traveled to Caesarea Phillipi, a town approximately 25 miles north of Galilee where Jesus asks his disciples […]
Remember
Our help is in the Name of the Lord, * the maker of heaven and earth. Sey and I had finished our first week away on vacation. Our children had left behind many wonderful memories shared together, Sey and I had celebrated our anniversary with a beautiful dinner overlooking a beach and the setting sun. I […]
The kingdom of heaven is insidious
1 Give thanks to the Lord and call upon his Name; * make known his deeds among the peoples. 2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, * and speak of all his marvelous works. As a chaplain at St. Patrick’s Day School in Washington DC, I worshipped with, taught, and had fun with about 525 young people […]
Surely the Lord was in this place and I did not know it
1Lord, you have searched me out and known me; * you know my sitting down and my rising up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 4 You press upon me behind and before * and lay your hand upon me. 5 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; * it is so high that I […]
God Provides
5 But I put my trust in your mercy; * my heart is joyful because of your saving help. 6 I will sing to the Lord, for he has dealt with me richly; * I will praise the Name of the Lord Most High. Many times I have visited with people in the hospital or at […]
When Jesus saw them, he had compassion
4 For the Lord is good; his mercy is everlasting; * and his faithfulness endures from age to age. When I was in seminary, I took a class from an amazing teacher and prophet, The Rev. Dr. Michael Battle. He taught a class called “Teaching Grace and Bearing Burdens: Reconciliation as God’s Love in Action.” This was […]
Invited to Wonder
O Lord our Governor, * how exalted is your Name in all the world! Like many of you, I studied poetry in school. I memorized lines of poetry verses, studied the different forms– the imagery, the rhymes and patterns, and tried to glean some meaning. But for much of my childhood and youth, poetry remained just that, […]
Aren’t all these speaking Christians?
O God take our minds and think through them, take our lips and speak through them, take our hands and work through them, and take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen I spent all of my growing up years in Texas. My mother came from the Piney Woods of East Texas and the […]
Jesus Prays for Us
9 You sent a gracious rain, O God, upon your inheritance; * you refreshed the land when it was weary. 10 Your people found their home in it; * in your goodness, O God, you have made provision for the poor. 33 Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth; * sing praises to the […]
All things in common
Surely God’s goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, *and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. Last week, Pope Francis appeared at the TED International Conference. The topic of the conference was “The Future is You.” The Pope said that he was delighted to be speaking on […]