Upon entering a church, I noticed that the children were picking up small bags and taking them to their seats. “What are those?” I asked. “Those are activity bags with crayons,...

Jesus begins his ministry not by joining with family and friends to celebrate his ordination but rather by being cast into the wilderness where he is tempted by Satan. When I...

How reassuring to hear Paul proclaim, “All who call on the Lord’s name will be saved.” Christians are those who, at least on a weekly basis in our worship, “call on...

There. That wasn’t so hard, was it? Yesterday, Ash Wednesday, we committed an unusual act: We confessed our sin. Feel sorry for those who brag, “I will never apologize for anything.”...

On Ash Wednesday the church makes us admit our mortality, finitude, and sin. Not too many will be in church on this day. Few of us are willing to hear—in spite...

Many’s the time I’ve had someone show up at church after a long absence, explaining their return like this: “I’ve been going through a tough time in my life. Big problems....

Remember where you came from. Good advice, Deuteronomy. It’s all too easy to claim that we’re here because we worked hard or because we deserve to be here. It’s easy to...

After the events on the mountain, Jesus, Peter, John, and James return to their lives. Immediately they are met by a great crowd. A father in agony over his son’s malady...

Peter, John, and James have accompanied their friend and teacher up the mountain for time apart. Jesus wants to pray—to be with the One who has sent him. He also senses...

At our baptisms, we are baptized into the glory of God. One of our Episcopal prayers for the season of Epiphany asks that we might “shine with the radiance of Christ’s...