Believing What We Live
Jack Hardaway } How we live tells us what we really believe. God gives water to the thirsty. God is water to the thirsty. That is the Exodus lesson. Jesus says whoever gives water to the least of these gives water to him. It becomes an act of worship and devotion, a sacrament. What does […]
Manna
Jack Hardaway ] Losing a job. Sometimes, it can be like losing part of ourselves. We forget who we are, or who we used to be. It can leave us wondering who we are. Do we have value? It can break the heart. It can leave us empty. And that wilderness- of searching for a […]
Sometimes You Just Gotta Sing 🎶
Jack Hardaway } Sheeruh la Yahweh keeg gao gaa sus maro ka voe va yom. Sing to the Lord, for he has triumphed gloriously; horse and rider he has thrown into the sea. Moses’ older sister, Miriam, who pulled baby Moses from the water and tricked Pharaoh’s daughter into caring for him, this is her […]
Just Walk On In
Jack Hardaway } Have you ever walked into the wrong house? I did that once (that I remember). It was at the beach. All the houses looked the same. I was having fun on the beach and walked back to the house. I just walked on in– to the wrong one. I was standing in […]
Barefoot and Holy
Jack Hardaway } Take your shoes off and leave them at the door. I was a child and a new family moved into the neighborhood, with children. When we came over to play we had to take our shoes off. The shoes were all lined up at the door. Which was fine, we didn’t even […]
Crazy, Sneaky, Funny
Jack Hardaway } The taste of freedom. That breath of fresh air. That moment where confinement ends. You know what I mean. Like getting out of a bad job. Or a bad relationship. Or toxic religion. The cessation of pain, fear and abuse. The taste and feel of that moment. The feeling and taste of […]
Feral
Jack Hardaway ] Long story short. I once had to get Animal Control to catch a feral cat. It involved a cage with bait, and eventually, late one night, it set off the trap, and was captured. I found it the next morning. It was huge. Its ears were tattered ribbons, its face was a […]
The Cry
Jack Hardaway ] There is a story, long ago, about a Rabbi named Eliezer. Eliezer declared that a person should repent the day before they die. His disciples protested and said, “But a person can die any day.” And Eliezer agreed and said, “Therefore, all of life should be one of repentance.” Suffering and death […]
Silent
Jack Hardaway ] Light makes no sound. Glory is silent. Clouds are quiet. The breath of the wind, that still small voice, the sheer silence of God’s presence before Elijah on Mt. Horeb. Before Moses as he comes down Mt. Sinai, his face changed with unheard blazing . Jesus at the Mount of Transfiguration. Before […]
I Forget
Jack Hardaway ] Posted right there in the front yard, the Ten Commandments. I remember seeing an interview, someone was protesting the Ten Commandments being removed from public spaces, like schools and court rooms. The reporter asked the man if he could remember all of the commandments, and the man could not, he then said, […]
Sharing the Miracle
Credit cards. They can be tricky. You know how those credit limits just keep going up. Ran mine way up, lost track of it. I ran it up to oh..about…5 or 6 billion dollars. Needless to say I couldn’t pay it, the credit collection agencies got kind of blood thirsty, then there was this big […]
Just Walk On In
Have you ever walked into the wrong house? I did that once (that I remember). It was at the beach. All the houses looked the same. I was having fun on the beach and walked back to the house. I just walked on in– to the wrong one. I was standing in a living room […]
Names and Stories
My first real camping trip out in the woods was just a sleeping bag, on a tarp, on the ground, under the trees. I woke up in the middle of the night, expecting darkness, but what I saw was a soft magical glow. An old fallen down decaying tree, right next to me on the […]
Oh Freedom
I once road a bus across the Rift Valley of East Africa. Though, I didn’t get to see much. The bus was literally packed three layers high with occupants. We road from Nairobi to Lake Victoria. By the time we arrived I was in pretty bad shape. It only took about six hours, but it […]
Water in a Dry Place
(GAVEL SOUNDS…) I call this court to order. The case of the Israelites vs. the Lord will now be heard. The question before us, “Is the Lord among us or not?” The plaintiff claims that they have been brought out of Egypt, out of the house of bondage, to die of thirst in the wilderness.” […]
Do I Have Your Attention Yet?
I love old china plates and patterns. So does Susan, my wife. We both come from families with generations of accumulated, and mixed china patterns. Full sets, partial sets, small sets, single pieces. The bottom line, our house has stacks and stacks of china, filling the place up. They are beautiful, the patterns that endure, […]
Urgency
Where do you find God? What is God like? Scripture gets used appropriately and inappropriately for all kinds of things, but for me scripture is really about those two questions. I don’t see scripture anymore as the place where I handpick the correct combination of do’s and don’ts to get God to like me. Where […]
Show Me Your Glory
I must have been about thirteen years old when Raiders of the Lost Ark came out. There is that great scene towards the end where the bad guys open up the lost Ark of the Covenant. Indiana Jones and his companion close their eyes. Out flies the beautiful Angel of the Lord which turns into […]
Your People
YOUR PEOPLE Moses and God. God and Moses. They argued. A lot. Like an old married couple. They argue about us, their children. To whom do we belong? “Look what your people are doing!” they each said pointing at each other. Your people! No, your people! We revel before the idol, the golden calf, forged […]
Words I Won’t Be Preaching
When the world falls apart what do we do? What are the words that need to be heard? What can be said to make things better? What can be spoken to bring holiness to desecration? The liturgy that brings restoration of things profaned? This is a sermon I won’t be preaching, the Bishop has his […]
Where’s the Water?
Have you ever noticed that the Bible has this thing about water? The Spirit brooded over the waters at the creation. The flood of Noah. The Nile turned to blood. The parting of the Red Sea. The crossing of the Jordan River. Jonah being cast into the sea. Jesus baptism in the Jordan. Jesus’ command […]
You’re Hired!
You know those old cars. Not the antique ones that are all prettied up, but the old ones that you can hear coming. They have their own particular rattle and rumble that you learn to recognize. Here comes that old pick up with a faded pizza sign stuck on the roof, rattle, rattle, rumble, rumble. […]
Into the Sea
Credit cards. They can be tricky. You know how those credit limits just keep going up. Ran mine way up, lost track of it. I ran it up to oh..about…5 or 6 billion dollars. Needless to say I couldn’t pay it, the credit collection agencies got kind of bloodthirsty, then there was this big surprise, […]
From the Snare
I once rode a bus across the Rift Valley of East Africa. Though, I didn’t get to see much. The bus was literally packed three layers high with occupants. We road from Nairobi to Lake Victoria. By the time we arrived I was in pretty bad shape. It only took about six hours, but it […]