John the Baptist is always a central character during the second week of Advent.  He is, in the words of Isaiah, “a voice calling out in the wilderness.”  His message was simple and direct, even harsh.  “Repent.”  Change your mind, change your actions, change your life.  Get ready for the…

Our theme this Advent season is Mystery.  It’s a powerful word and idea.  It’s the kind of word that demands more words, to get to the bottom of it.  Or, the surrender of all words, silence, to confess there is no bottom.  “Be still…,” Psalm 46:10.  “No one knows…,” Matthew…

Only a few days left until the end of the year – the end of the liturgical year, that is.  This coming Sunday marks the final Sunday of the ecumenical church calendar and is followed by the beginning of Advent, a rebooted cycle in the life of the church. Although…

Last evening I attended the annual assembly of BREAD – Building Responsibility, Equality, And Dignity.  Many of you know this better than I, but in case not: BREAD is a county wide interfaith organization that selects one pressing social issue per year on which to try and make a significant…

Today I came across a quote attributed to Thomas Merton: “If the you of five years ago doesn’t consider the you of today a heretic, you are not growing spiritually.”  I’m a little leery to pass it along because it doesn’t have a specific reference to one of Merton’s writings. …