Praise the LORD! Praise the Sovereign from the heavens! Praise the Great One, all angels and celestial beings! Praise the Eternal Light, you sun and moon and stars! (Psalm 148) Can you imagine being the sun — 1,391,000 km in diameter, more than 4,500,000,000 years old, the center of the solar system, the hope of… Read More
Sunday Prayer
You who are our strength, you who are our salvation: We have known your presence and we have doubted it. We have known pain and we have known delight. We have known peace and we have known fear. Through it all, we confess: your steadfast love endures forever. You who are our sanctuary, you who… Read More
Easter Sunday Prayer
Let us do what is right, with prayer and praise: We rejoice in your renewal, O Creator — alleluia, amen — and we celebrate the labor to which we are called. We rejoice that we are not surrendered to death — alleluia, amen — and we celebrate your name on this day. We preach the women’s… Read More
The Pastoral Is Political: Release Barabbas
“Release Barabbas for us!” (Luke 23:18) In Bangladesh, an 18-year-old student named Nusrat Jahan Rafi has died from the trauma of being set on fire, an attacked that caused 80% burn injuries on her body. The student had accused the school principal, an influential local leader, of attempted rape. Her family received threats after the… Read More
Palm Sunday Prayer
When we have shouted ourselves hoarse and returned home from the parade, forgive our wavering commitment to love. When we have finished our hymns and departed from the comforts of worship, forgive our fickle faithfulness. When we have passed the plate of bread and swept up all the last crumbs, forgive our refusal to extend… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary: Palms
There it is: Holy Week. At long last, after the fullness of the Lenten season — the extra workload in your faith community, the extra discipline in your spiritual life, the extra chocolate to counter the stress of the extra workload — now at last Holy Week is in sight. Now at last, the emotional… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Ostriches
On this Lenten way, O God of every life-giving way we pray for a new thing to spring forth: for the path through stormy waters and for those pummeled by the storm until a dry path becomes clear; for the avenues toward peace and for those surrounded by warring chariots until the rage of war… Read More
Revised Common Lectionary: In All Honesty
God: “Don’t be afraid. I am your shield. Also, the payoff will be well worth your while.” Abram, asking for a friend: “What kind of payoff? My friend might not be afraid if they know how big the reward will be. But right now, things don’t look promising.” God: “It’ll be seriously big. Land. Children.… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Blessed
Blessed be the Wind: racing, eroding, unsettling, compelling, and blessed are we that the Wind does not leave us alone. Blessed be the Flesh: grieving, straining, delighting, satisfying, and blessed are we that the Flesh reveals the fullness of life. Blessed be the Insight: guiding, surprising, marveling, upending, and blessed are we that the Insight… Read More
Sunday Prayer: Bliss & Blues
Blessed are you, O GOD, O Eternal Mercy, and woe to us who cannot welcome mercy in our hearts and in generosity to others. Blessed be the strangers who bear grace. Blessed are you, O GOD, O Delightful Joy, and woe to us who cannot dance & whirl without the highs of risk or consumption.… Read More
