When Archbishop Foley Beach heard that I was heading to Israel for a personal trip, he asked if there was some way I could stop in Poland along the way and ordain a Ukrainian woman named Nina there. His diocese is closely connected to Christ Church, the historic Anglican congregation in the walled Old City of Jerusalem. Nina will serve there, once her visa goes through....
As the season of Lent draws near, it occurs to me how counter-cultural it really is. The culture tells us in many ways that our needs and desires come first, and that limiting ourselves by restraining our desires is somehow generally wrong. We also have a culture that tells us that busyness is required to get the most out of life....
It is common for Christians to teach that we live in the Already–Not yet season. Jesus has already called many to be his people, but the kingdom is not yet fully realized, and will not be until Jesus returns again....
I hope that as we head towards Christmas, you are finding the Lord’s peace in the midst of the flurry of the season. Let me share one perhaps unexpected way to prepare for Christmas....
A recent podcast caught my attention as it compared the cultural upheaval of our own day to the year 1968. I was a senior in high school that spring, and remember vividly the sense of things falling apart. There were violent anti-war rallies, the continuing Civil Rights debates, and the horrific assassinations of both Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy. Kennedy was a presidential candidate in that tumultuous and divisive election year. And yes, there was a deadly pandemic that year as well....
While we have used the term a lot, I struggle a bit with the language of the “new normal.” Obviously, we mean what life will be like after the pandemic, and certainly many things have changed already. I think there will be major impacts on business travel, online education, various types of available jobs, the economy, etc., etc. But my real struggle is with the concept of “normal.”...
Although we are not quite there yet, the new normal, post-pandemic world is thankfully almost in sight. While this has been a physical health restoration process, I am more concerned that there be a spiritual restoration coming out of it. Will we take the time to hear what the Lord will speak? There can be no real revival without such hearing....
I was struck by a scene in one of the most recent episodes of the online series The Chosen (see below**). Jesus’ new disciples Peter and Matthew get into a heated argument. Matthew is depicted as the tax collector who had made Peter’s life financially miserable....
Lockdown. It is the tragic and fearful state which we all experienced early on in the pandemic. Everything came to a halt. Sadly, some countries are in the midst of lockdowns again. What struck me as I considered the story of Jesus appearing to the disciples after the resurrection (John 20:19-23) is that they were in lockdown:...
Most of you are probably familiar with the military acronym AWOL, Absent Without Leave. It refers to persons who have left their posts without permission (but who have not permanently deserted.) In the midst of Lent, I want to re-purpose the same acronym. I think many of us are regularly Absent Without Leaving. In other words, we may be physically present (or at least virtually present on a phone call or video chat), but we are emotionally absent, our minds and hearts engaged somewhere else....
Have you ever felt like you are sailing in a fog? I think the pandemic alone, even without the other stresses we are experiencing nationally, makes us all feel disoriented....
I write to call for prayer for our nation and to reflect personally and Biblically on some of what we have seen....
What a traumatic and tragic week we have been through together. I am reeling from the report of the death of a Capitol police officer from the mayhem on Wednesday in Washington. I know many of you, like me, are still having trouble believing that the Capitol could have been under siege with members of Congress literally hiding in the building....
So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding. Romans 14:19 Dear brothers and sisters in the diocese, Greetings in the Lord Jesus who reigns over all. Sadly, the pandemic is still with us. Therefore let me briefly share a commendation, a concern and a challenge in this hard season. Commendation for Faithfulness I am very thankful to the L...
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