Tag Archives: Prayer

Withered Bones in the Embrace of Mercy

       One of my great joys as a priest is Lent, and not just because I like to remind folks that they are gonna die on Ash Wednesday – which, if you missed, it…. you’re gonna die one day. I love Lent because it’s an opportunity to pay microscopic attention to our lives. And eachContinue reading “Withered Bones in the Embrace of Mercy”

Changed by the Wilderness

       The day started early, with simple and delicious buttered bread and a bowl of coffee, which, I learned that morning, was how the folks in the Basque area of France drink coffee, literally in a bowl. Over breakfast, I sat with other pilgrims, talking about the day, our hopes, and plans for the pilgrimage;Continue reading “Changed by the Wilderness”

Again.

In the midst of life we are in death;from whom can we seek help?From you alone, O Lord,who by our sins are justly angered. Holy God, Holy and Mighty,Holy and merciful Savior,deliver us not into the bitterness of eternal death. Burial of the Dead, Rite II; Book of Common Prayer, p. 492 For years onContinue reading “Again.”

Every Stitch A Prayer

I can’t quite describe when it happened, but there was a moment in the planning, preparation, and dreaming about making this pilgrimage that I began to realize that it wasn’t just a daydream, but that plans were being made, items bought, and plane tickets booked. I can’t exactly pinpoint when this moment hit me, butContinue reading “Every Stitch A Prayer”

And the Camino Begins

The smell of the pine-baked forrest of late Spring reminds me not only of all the paths I’ve taken, but of all the prayers I’ve prayed while walking through the woods. The bright sun lights the path through the bare trees as the low-lying ferns and tiny wildflowers burst to life along trail, calling meContinue reading “And the Camino Begins”

Sighs Too Deep

I was surrounded and the room filled with the loud sound of a family presenting to God their fears, their hopes, and their anxieties. In many ways, it was like any other day; I knocked on the non-descript hospital door and introduced myself. I listened as the family shared the terrible news about the patriarchContinue reading “Sighs Too Deep”

The Grace of God

A sermon delivered to the people of Christ Episcopal Church in Bowling Green, KY on Ash Wednesday, February 14, 2018 on 2 Corinthians 5:20b-6:10 and Matthew 6:1-6,16-20. It is often noted that there is a brilliant paradox of reading Jesus’ warning in the sermon on the mount, “Beware of practicing your piety before others inContinue reading “The Grace of God”

On the Eve of My Ordination

On the eve of my ordination I am overwhelmed. I am overwhelmed with gratitude and joy and fear and hope and love and giddy delight. On the eve of my ordination, I look back, amazed that my life has brought me here; that somehow, despite all the ways in which this call could have beenContinue reading “On the Eve of My Ordination”

Swim Diagonally

The refrain of “name and date of birth” requests were constant while I was in the hospital; during my 11 day stay, I probably recounted the story of how I got sick and the progression of my hospital hopping 30 times. In the hospital, everything is about you when you are the patient. Doctors, nurses,Continue reading “Swim Diagonally”