God of the 100%
Create in me a clean heart, O God, *and renew a right spirit within me. (Psalm 51:11) Today we remember the day, September 11, 2001. Today is the 15th anniversary of that day. Most of us can remember where we were and what we doing when we either watched with horror or heard with disbelief […]
Who are we inviting to the banquet?
One of the early things I noticed when Sey and I moved to the Berkshires was that people who were homeless did not gather on the streets or sleep in the doorways of churches or stores, or stand near stoplights asking for help. I suspected that the Berkshires was not exempt from the needs of […]
Be Rich Toward God
It is interesting that when we speak about Christian ethics or morals, we often identify those terms with norms or behavior concerning sexuality or marriage or having a certain set of disciplines or beliefs. But the truth is, Jesus very rarely speaks about those issues. Besides the two passages about marriage and divorce found in […]
Do this and you will live.
Lead me in your truth and teach me, * for you are the God of my salvation; in you have I trusted all the day long. (Psalm 25:4) The pain of this week is almost unbearable. Even in a country soaked in violence with more guns than there are men, women, and children, this week […]
We are all called– A sermon by Virginia Vogel-Polizzi
What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their […]
O Lord you are my strength, hasten to help me.
Be not far away, O Lord; * you are my strength; hasten to help me. One evening an old Cherokee man told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people. He said, “My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, […]
Jesus and the Centurion
Declare his glory among the nations * and his wonders among all peoples. (Psalm 96:3) Tomorrow is Memorial Day, a day off for many when we have time to be with family and friends. A day of cookouts if the weather permits, perhaps even spending time on the water, or taking long hikes in […]
A Language that All Can Understand
Oh, God, take our minds and think through them, take our lips and speak through them, and take our hearts and set them on fire. Amen. Welcome to this glorious Day of Pentecost. Today is the celebration of the birth of the church, not the building, but the community who on this day was released […]
What are you waiting for?
May God be merciful to us and bless us, * show us the light of his countenance and come to us. (Psalm 67:1) It starts the same way every year. Around the time of my birthday, I would take stock. I would look at those things that I wanted to change– things that would lead […]
They will know you are my disciples by your love for each other.
It had once been a great monastic order. But waves of persecution in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries and the rise of secularism in the nineteenth, had reduced it to the extent that there were only five monks left in the decaying mother house: the abbot and four others, all over seventy in age. Clearly […]