Jesus just wanted a moment of privacy, to rest and be alone with God, but instead, he’s confronted with human need. He didn’t know her and neither do we. Her name and that of her daughter is omitted from the recounting of events, only the place that she comes from, and that she is other... Her full story remains untold, but we do know her status as an outsider who somehow--and immediately--heard about Jesus.

Some people say the Resurrection is about joy, others say hope; I appreciate the way Marcus Borg calls it "God's yes to Jesus and God's no to the powers that be"--the empires of violence, injustice and greed that try to rule our lives today just as they killed Jesus long ago. But God, Borg reminds us, said no to all that and yes to Jesus.

The light is trickled in… it comes in with a single voice calling out and other voices replying to it… it is small but so much more of a presence of hope than darkness… that tiny light is enough to make the huge darkness unable to overwhelm us! …then that little tiny fragile light is… that light is transferred to one another… that light of hope is brought in again and sustains us through the first baptism. It doesn’t cost us our own light to pass it on to another person’s candle. Just the time to make the gesture.

Happy New Year!!!
Today is January 1, 2017, the first day into the New Year.  I am so hopeful that this whole year will be full of amazing and wonderful surprises for all of us.  This past week has had a few surprises in receiving a couple additional Christmas gifts from God in the way of two strangers to care for and the gift of much rest and time at home… and through all of that, the study and consideration of names and words…

Paul’s message to the Church of Rome way back when was, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

This Advent I have been looking for ways that we can and are planting HOPE while we await the birth LOVE. I have been remembering the past and dreaming about the future. I want to expand a little bit around the theme that I began last week. I want to stretch us, our minds and souls to consider the whole world.

Welcome to the New Year of the Christian calendar. I know the Gregorian calendar begins a new year on January first, and our personal new year may happen on our birthday, I also know that the liturgical calendar begins for the new year today, this very morning, we are now in the liturgical calendar date of Year A 1st Sunday of Advent! So, happy New Year!

The first thing I do during and after a crisis or after experiencing a shock is to pray. Then the second thing I do is to look to the arts and what is being created with wholeness, love and amazing vision. These past several weeks I have been privileged being up here in the Valley, to see amazing and beautiful nature, God’s own art there.

In this week’s gospel, Jesus is questioned by some Sadducees. They are authorities and have some power… and perhaps feel threatened by this upstart Jesus who has a different message than the one that keeps them safely in their power and authority, or perhaps is simply a message that they truly don’t understand. Jesus’ response is one that steps out of the word-trap they set for him and offers a completely different perspective.