Phew. We certainly have had a run of difficult Gospel readings of late. Our reading for this morning is so difficult that it is at the top of a list of passages known as “the difficult sayings of Jesus.” I can remember when I began studying Greek in seminary that...

The Rev. Karen B. Johnson A resource I have often turned to during these years of COVID is Matthew Fox’s 2020 book, Julian of Norwich: Wisdom in a Time of Pandemic – and Beyond. Julian, a 14th century English mystic who endured the intense suffering of the Black Death plague, at the age...

The Rev. Karen B. Johnson Last summer I was having a dish of pistachio ice cream down in Round Pond with a friend who has a knack for weather lore. We were sitting on a bench overlooking the harbor when clouds appeared in rows something like mackerel scales. And my...

Have you ever asked yourself why you come to church week in and week out? I once asked a group of adults this question and their answers were as varied as the people in the room. I wrote their answers down, and I still have the list: It is just...

Of the four Gospels, the Gospel of Luke has the most to say about wealth, its effects on those who possess it, and what those with more than they need for basic necessities should do with their excess. Throughout this Gospel we see Jesus bringing hope and good news to...

Very early on in my ordained life I preached a sermon on our Gospel passage for this morning that basically said, “persistence in prayer pays off.” My message was keep knocking and God will give you what you ask for. It wasn’t a very good sermon, and it was bad...

Many years ago, when I was serving in the Diocese of Delaware, I attended a clergy day in which we were to determine our spiritual personality type. I believe there were four possible personalities that we could be—Mary, Martha, Jonah, and a fourth that I can’t remember. I have absolutely...

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.”...

We are living in a difficult time, a time in which it is very easy to become despondent and discouraged. Global pandemics, threats to the foundations of our democracy, our growing awareness of the ways that our very culture is infused with white privilege and supremacy, gun violence and mass...

On this day, Trinity Sunday, I am not going to attempt to explain the Trinity to you, for I can’t. The doctrine of the Trinity, that God is one God and three persons all at the same time is not explainable. It is a human attempt to explain that which...