A few weeks ago, I wrote about 2020 being a year of audibles: having to change the plan on the fly due to circumstances outside our control. It's easy enough to frame it like this looking back, but I have to admit it wasn't a smooth process. It took a bit of time, prayer, and … Continue reading The Vocation of Now
Today's Epistle contains what I think is probably one of the most surprising and helpful things the Apostle Paul says in his writings: A new grounding of morality and ethics that doesn't just do away with the Law, but rejects the binary of 'permitted' and 'forbidden', or 'lawful' and 'illegal' altogether. In the sixth chapter … Continue reading Everything is Permissible
The other day, we commemorated the Baptism of Jesus, a truly powerful moment in the life of Jesus and a paradigm for our own life of faith. Unfortunately, our Sunday lectionary readings leave what happens next until Lent: Jesus' temptation in the wilderness. I say 'unfortunately,' because it feels like this part of the story … Continue reading Tempted
Today, on this first Sunday after Epiphany, we celebrate the Baptism of Jesus. For me this commemoration is sort of like an Epiphany Part II, because I spent several years in the Eastern Orthodox Church, where Christ's Baptism in the Jordan is the primary commemoration of Epiphany itself. In the Eastern tradition, the feast is … Continue reading Waters of Repentance
Arise! Shine! For your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. These are some of the most joyous words in all of the Scriptures. And these are the words upon which we are asked to reflect on this great and holy feast of the Epiphany. Historically speaking, Epiphany, literally … Continue reading Arise! Shine! (A Reflection for Epiphany 2021)
Matthew Root 