Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. Thus begins the beautiful tribute to our ancestors in faith, found in the eleventh chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews. Our Epistle lesson today includes only a part of that chapter, but it would be worth getting out your…

There is a delightful book called Tales From a Magic Monastery, by Theophane the Monk, (Crossroad, New York, 1981), that you might enjoy reading some day. It’s a collection of stories set in a very special monastery “off over there somewhere” — a place where the truth is always acted out. This is what happened to…

Today we hear about Mary and Martha — two really remarkable people who have often been treated rather badly. To be sure, they are famous and, if nothing else, doubtless have had more women’s guilds named after them than anyone else. But they are so often used as types, as symbols, that their own story…

Americans who have not lived in another country for any length of time, do not realize that, in spite its faults, the United States is a nation that obeys laws. The ultimate example is the Civil Rights Law of 1964 that altered profoundly the way we treat each other. Where even the churches had failed…

Our Lectionary does not include Luke 9: 1-6, which depicts Jesus sending out the twelve disciples, empowering them with authority over demons, the ability to heal the sick, all as they proclaim the good news of the nearness of God’s kingdom. They are to accept hospitality where it is offered, and to move on where…

No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God. Are there many people today who understand “what putting a hand to the plow” means? Does someone operating a machine instead of a hand-held plow understand the meaning of these words? Perhaps. The key seems to…

In today’s reading from the Gospel according to St. Luke, Jesus asks the disciples two questions, questions that still have significance for us today. The first question that Jesus posed to the disciples was, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” And they answered, “John the Baptist; but others, Elijah; and still others, that…