20th Sunday in Ordinary Time (Year A, RCL)

The psalmist calls for something that is hard for us to imagine.

What if I’m the cheek-slapper, the thief, the opportunist?

A well-placed wisecrack can pull the mighty down from their thrones.

When Jews, Christians, and Muslims gather to celebrate arts and culture, the dividing walls crumble.

God builds “a house of prayer for all peoples.” All means all.

Anyone who seeks to divide people is working against God. And refusing to say that is sin.

There have been many Zionisms over the years. Only one has imagined an eventual end of Judaism.

Give me your tired, your poor, those you consider dogs.

This election season, we've seen a lot of hatred and inhospitality directed toward Muslims and toward migrants. There is talk of building walls instead of bridges, a focus on fueling the politics of fear instead of concern for human need.

In 1 Kings 8 we see an alternative.

The church’s recognition of the reality of radical evil opened its music to dissonant, jagged 20th-century soundscapes and what they could express.

By far the most uncomfortable pastoral work I do is with people who want help for relatives in churches that are far away. I once got a call from one such relative who had been elected secretary of a church committee and wondered how she should minute the meeting. Worse are the complaints about pastors who do things I have done. (“My brother says they don’t sing hymns everyone knows. What can we do?”)

Joseph knows what he is seeing. His brothers do not.

Each autumn, Fourth Presbyterian Church's sanctuary is full to overflowing with Jewish worshipers attending High Holy Days observances.

Monastic vows sound familiar to anyone who's been to a wedding. In both marriage and celibacy, we promise to be faithful.