Seeking Authentic Voice

Our readings this morning in Isaiah and in the Gospel of Luke appear to be sounding a warning. Look out! The times they are a-changing! But let’s remember that these readings appear every three years and were not designated specifically for today as a response to this presidential election or the times we live in. We are not to read into them more than they are. They are the end of a three year cycle of Bible readings which all combined give us a portrait of what it means to be a people of God and how we are to live as a beloved community, the kingdom of God come near. . Isaiah is a prophet who lived about 2600 years ago. Isaiah lived during a time of great turmoil for the Hebrew people. The people were divided and cynical about their future. There was hardship and their lives were difficult. Into this state of despair, Isaiah reminds the people that God is with them. God will turn their heartache into grace, their challenges into new life. Isaiah prophesy’s “Before they call...

As an Episcopal priest, every time I pray the words of the Eucharistic prayer “ we offer and present unto thee, O Lord, ourselves, our souls and bodies,” I think of a book my mother bought me in 1971 when I was fourteen years old, “Our Bodies, Ourselves.” Some may find this blasphemous.   What can I say? It happens. There I am standing at the altar, reverently praying these words from the “traditional” Rite I liturgy, words that invite us into a transformational relationship with God through the living presence of Jesus Christ, and suddenly I have a memory of this other transformational book.   “Our Bodies Ourselves” changed the lives of women of a certain age. We learned about our anatomy in graphic detail, and the door was opened to talk about aspects of our selves that were formally taboo. Who would have imagined that 42 years later the conversation on women’s anatomy and health care would devolve? The current political discourse on women reveals an antiquated i...

This morning I drove north about an hour to attend the Diocesan Convention for the Episcopal Church Women (ECW). Our Bishop and his wife were scheduled to speak about the recent Lambeth Conference. (Lambeth is a conference held every 10 years, convened by the Archbishop of Canterbury and held in England. Lambeth Conference is non-governing entity, intended for study and fellowship). This was the second time I have heard the Bishop speak about his experience there and I am getting the impression that it was, perhaps, a real eye-opener for him. The Bishop and his wife spoke of their experience of the small group work, a Bible study held every morning of those three weeks, except Sunday. After the Bible study (done Lectio Divina method) the small groups would talk and share stories. One of the things that made this year different is that the Bishop spouses, 98% of whom are women, were also invited into Bible study. It seems the Janie Williams, wife of the current Archbishop of Canterbury ...