Give us a King: A Reflection on 1 Samuel 8.4-20

I remember when I was about eight years old desperately wanting a skateboard, and not just any skateboard, but a banana board, a style that was all the rage among second grade taste-makers in Whitehorse at the time. I wasn't particularly agile or stable on my feet, and I got around just fine on my … Continue reading Give us a King: A Reflection on 1 Samuel 8.4-20

Confrontation and Calling: A Reflection on Isaiah 6:1-18

Today, the Sunday following Pentecost, is the Sunday the Western Church commemorates the revelation of God as Trinity. This is a notoriously difficult doctrine to understand or explain, especially when trying to interpret the Church's classic definitions as found in the Niceno-Constantinopolitan (in common speech 'Nicene') Creed and writings of the Church Fathers that support … Continue reading Confrontation and Calling: A Reflection on Isaiah 6:1-18

Babel’s Curse, Babel’s Blessing: A Narrative Reflection for Pentecost 2021

Once upon a time, the whole earth had one language, one culture, and all of the people lived in the same land. When the people came to a beautiful plain between two rivers, they said to one another, 'This is a beautiful and rich land. Let us settle here,' and so they did. The people … Continue reading Babel’s Curse, Babel’s Blessing: A Narrative Reflection for Pentecost 2021

A Prayer for the People of God: A Reflection on John 17.6-19

I have to admit that I groaned a little when I saw that today's Gospel reading was from John 17. It's actually a beautiful passage in its own way, recording Jesus' impassioned prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane in the hours before he was arrested. But, with its stream-of-consciousness style, which loops back on itself … Continue reading A Prayer for the People of God: A Reflection on John 17.6-19

A Glorious Inheritance: A Reflection on the Feast of the Ascension

Today is Ascension Day, which commemorates the end of the forty days of Jesus' earthly appearances after his resurrection, and his ascent into heaven. The story itself, as related in the Acts of the Apostles, is as simple as it is odd: As they were watching, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him … Continue reading A Glorious Inheritance: A Reflection on the Feast of the Ascension