John the Baptist

Internal Plumb Lines

Year B Amos 7:7-15 Psalm 85:8-13 Ephesians 1:3-14 Mark 6:14-29 May the words of my mouth O God…  speak your truth… Of the four prophetic books that date back to about the eighth century…  Hosea…  Isaiah…  Joel…  and Amos…  Amos is probably the oldest… and his words are so startling and dramatic…  that they’re virtually unprecedented…  but all...

Waiting for Everything

Year A Isaiah 35:1-10 Canticle 15 James 5:7-10 Matthew 11:2-11 May the words of my mouth O God…  speak your truth… When there’s going to be a space launch…  like Thursday’s Falcon 9 rocket…  which deployed an array of low-Earth orbit satellites…  there are literally hundreds…  if not thousands of variables which must be seamlessly integrated and precisely...

Gardens Within Deserts

Year A Isaiah 11:1-10 Psalm 72:1-7, 18-19 Romans 15:4-13 Matthew 3:1-12May the words of my mouth O God…  speak your truth… John the Baptist wears symbolic clothing and eats symbolic food…  both of which suggest people and processes in Israel’s past…  both of which explore the dynamics of repentance…  John’s clothing is reminiscent of Elijah’s…  in a story...