God would not win the upcoming election—and not just for the fuzzy math. If my one-person focus group is anything to go by God comes over altogether too tough, too hard, in the first words out of his mouth today: “Adonai was pleased to crush him in infirmity.” Yikes! Pleased to crush? God needs better …
Category Archives: Berkeley
Wednesday Week 27 Year II
Once upon a time Jesus was praying and the guys who followed him around were watching him. They saw the look upon his face. They saw the something in his aching body. And they looked at each other and they wanted what he had. Peter spoke up, “I’ve read the best books but I still …
Sunday Week 26 Year B
Gehenna! … Gehenna! Like ourselves the citizens of Jerusalem were careful to dump their rubbish out of sight and out of mind. Do you know where your daily refuse goes? All those embarrassing reminders of consumption and packaging and waste? Rotting and un-rot-able alike. As far away as possible we hope. Out of nose range. …
Triumph of the Cross
I saw a film the other night. The main character, a photographer, is out of work, out of cash, and out of love and everyone keeps telling him to cheer up because obviously this puts him at his creative peak. And I guess it’s true—the creative peak is often a trough and the way to …
Beheading of John the Baptist
That reading from Jeremiah is so stirring: “I have made you a fortified city, an iron pillar, a bronze wall, against the whole land—kings, princes, priests, people—they will fight against you but they shall not prevail, for I am with you, says God, I will deliver you.” Stirring… but a lie. Jeremiah gets to prophecy …
Sunday Week 19 Year B
There’s something about calamity that brings out the best in us. When disaster falls from the heavens we all rally round, pitch in, and do what we can with a focus and an energy that we look back on with amazement. Amazed at our own resources we didn’t know we had, or amazed at the …
Sunday Week 15 Year B
Every time I travel I swear I will only take what I absolutely need. This time I will travel light. I will not need that shirt and tie. But what if there’s a fancy occasion? Better take some good shoes then. What about a jacket? And what happens if … Better safe than sorry. What …
Ascension Sunday
I used to have a piece of furniture, when I was an undergraduate living in college dorms, that made me shine with reflected greatness. In truth it was a tatty, worm-ridden, ugly thing—kind of a small cabinet on long shaky legs—but so grungy that I can’t remember now what I used to dare to put …
The Visitation
I love the poetry but it disturbs me deeply. It’s something about seeing … and seeing where you belong. Elizabeth sees only honour and blessing and joy in her kinswoman’s womb. But Mary is more canny. Of all her people’s heroes she might have identified with, Mary claims kinship with Hannah and echoes the song …
Sunday Week 6 of Easter Year B
Everything we’ve just heard should cut off, once and for all, any avenue of escape for us. Because I think we all want to escape from being loved by God. Sounds stupid, I know, but everyone I know does it. I catch myself doing it all the time. It usually starts when I’ve disappointed myself—done …