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

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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

According to God’s Purpose: Four Calling Narratives

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an old phone receiver

One of the major themes that comes out in the Sunday readings for Epiphany season this year is that of calling, or vocation. In fact, it is the theme of the readings from the Hebrew Bible and Gospels both last week and this week. Because vocation is something I think about a lot, I thought … Continue reading According to God’s Purpose: Four Calling Narratives

Invoking the Spirit

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For the second week in a row, my sacred practice for the week took me by surprise. As I wrote last week, I’ve been feeling a little out of sorts lately and found some solace in the awkward place we’ve been in the liturgical calendar, the ten days of waiting between Ascension and Pentecost. What … Continue reading Invoking the Spirit

Living and Effective

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Last week, I wrote about the problems we have in our culture talking about sin. I ended the post saying that I think a helpful way forward in developing our ability to talk about it is to reclaim the biblical metaphors that underlie unhelpful translations like ‘sin’ and ‘wickedness’. As I was contemplating this, I … Continue reading Living and Effective