08 Sep, 2020
Perseverance in exile. The poor Israelites and Moses persevered for 40 years (which is basically a metaphor for a really long time) in the desert before they finally glimpsed the Promised Land. And then Moses died, which I’ve always thought was...
31 Aug, 2020
I know grace, I feel grace, and I believe that there is grace in the midst of our current pandemic exile, but how to describe it and understand it? Rabbi Karyn Kedar in The Dance of the Dolphin defines grace as “A moment in time in which you...
24 Aug, 2020
On our continuing journey with the Israelites and Moses in the wilderness, we find the people complaining about the lack of food. “Oh why didn’t God just kill us when we were fed and satisfied instead of dragging us all this way just to die of...
17 Aug, 2020
When Moses gets the call from God to free the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt he’s got a pretty comfortable life going: he’s married, probably has kids, has herds, a home, a community. There is nothing in his life that says to me that somehow...
10 Aug, 2020
As we continue our conversation about exile, I wanted to take a look at the promise of exile. If we backtrack a little in the book of Exodus, we find that when Yahweh appeared to Moses that Yahweh made a promise to the Hebrew people. “Now go...
03 Aug, 2020
For the next six weeks, I want to talk about the concept of exile. For all practical purposes we’ve been exiled from our “normal” lives since COVID-19 affects absolutely everything we do – or don’t do - these days. As a framework for our...
31 Jul, 2020
Well, folks, this is my last reflection as we head back into weekly virtual worship in two days and then in-person worship on September 13. My initial intent was to have a daily way to remain connected to each of you, while at the same time...
30 Jul, 2020
I was raised by a master questioner, so I’m really good at asking questions. This has not always been seen as a positive thing. My high school friends sometimes referred to me as the “interrogator” for my questioning ability when they brought...
29 Jul, 2020
We are fortunate enough to see a few hummingbirds zooming around our flowers every year. This year I decided to buy a feeder for them and hang it just off the back deck so we could see them better. Of course they prefer the flowers. Just for...
28 Jul, 2020
I’m hoping that the karma judges give me a bit of a break today. I’m not my best when I’m feeling overwhelmed. It hurts me to say this (but recognition is the first step toward recovery, right?), but I’m feeling a bit in-over-my-head this week...