Harrowing Of Hell

Moral Blindness and Immanuel Kant

We find ourselves today with Peter and John at Solomon’s portico at the Temple in Jerusalem. They are surrounded by throngs of people who are stunned by their capacity to heal a man crippled from birth. Peter says to the crowd: “This healing was not done in our names, but the name of Jesus… You

The Body

HAPPY EASTER! Here we are outside under a ceiling of sky, in the fresh air, together praising God. It’s like a picnic, sort of… in that we have to lug our own chairs out here. Hopefully yours isn’t sinking into the mulch. Seeing you reminds me of the Holy Land. We are a pilgrims’ parish

Confrontng Evil When it Lives in the Light

I’ve finished a book recently called The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It’s a story of a young girl whose brother dies and mother abandons her into foster care. It takes place in Germany during WWII. The town she lands in is Molching, with a family living on the wrong side of the tracks, barely

Fishing with Pelagius and Augustine for a Trinitarian God

Today I want to preach about the state of our nation, and while the January 20 inauguration was honorable and majestic, as it should be, I am still troubled by what happened at the US Capitol building  on January 6. The memory of signs and symbols asserting that it was a Christian sanctioned movement: a

Coming of Age

The season of Advent brings us back to the familiar. The familiar decorations around the house. The familiar music on the radio. For us here in Seattle; the familiar long nights and short days. Maybe even familiar food and holiday drinks appear. And we experience, here in church, very familiar Bible stories. Today we find

Ready at a Moment’s Notice

The apostle Paul has given us such interesting imagery in his first letter to the Thessalonians today. I love the start, it’s as if he is speaking to you and me, right now. He begins, “Now concerning these times and seasons, brothers and sisters, you do not need anything written to you.” He is looking