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When I first read the lectionary text for this week, I laughed a bit. Of course the story of Jesus calling Peter and Andrew to follow him and be “fishers of men” is a familiar part of my childhood faith tradition. When you attach a biblical story to a silly song with cheesy hand motions, it just seems to stick …

Mark 1:21-28 (NRSV) 21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught. 22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

23Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to …

Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18 1 O LORD, you have searched me and known me. 2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. 3 You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. 4 Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, …

Mark 1:1-11 1 The beginning of the good news of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. 2 As it is written in the prophet Isaiah, “See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way; 3 the voice of one crying out in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’” 4 …

As those who have ever attended a birth or a death will tell you—all time is hallowed. I have left births I supported as a doula with my heart crying out— looking at folks passing in the street and thinking “how can the world keep on going?” “Don’t you know what has just happened?” “Don’t you see that the Mystery …

Presence I’ll begin my first guest email for CITC with a confession of theo-biblical geekery: I love the book of Exodus.  I love it so much that I almost went for a PhD in Hebrew Bible instead of Pastoral Theology so I could stay in that story.  Maybe it’s because when I write in Hebrew I don’t ink up my left hand, but I’m more inclined to think it’s the crazy …

Dental hygienists have long been my sort of fantasy alternative profession. When things are hard in my work I wonder—why, why why am I drawn to these murky edge waters? Why do I consistently work for passionate little non-profits or churches (yes, CitC is but one in the line of funky start-ups which comprise my professional history). Why do I surround myself with people with strong opinions and intense personalities? Why can’t I just have a normal job?

Sometimes when you find yourself in exile—rather than groaning and longing for home, you do better to just plant a vineyard. Suck it up, says our prophet. Build a life where you are—even if it is not the home you thought you would have. This passage is the foundation for a local conference in which several of us participated on Saturday August 13. It was a beautiful chance to speak honestly with other souls about liminal Christianity.

I want to live in the world our Psalmist describes: one where justice and peace embrace. Actually, they are doing more than embracing. As other translations reveal: they are smooching.

Our passage this week is a prime instance of how Hebrew verbs can be vague on time and tense. So it is unclear. Have love and faithfulness just met, are they meeting, or will they meet soon? Likewise, have justice and peace kissed, or is it a kiss that they (and we) are still anticipating?

Who hasn’t passed a night wrestling and been unclear as to an adversary’s true identity? Anxiety, fear, our false self or shadow-side—these all make fierce opponents. The voices of others infect our head and trouble us. Deep yearnings for wholeness or nagging needs for changes— these are visitors easier to ignore by daylight. Demon, angel, ego, — who hasn’t prayed to God for clarity after a night like Jacob’s? Who among us has not tasted river bank grit in your mouth and pleaded for a blessing as the morning dawns— grasping for some good come out of a night of struggle.