The Little Friar

I am not a biblicist.  I do not believe in  the Bible.  But I do believe in the God of the Bible.  And my Christian identity begins its formation in that text.  I have devoted my life thus far to understanding that text and its traditions.   So recently, while at a Bible study with friends, when a casual comment was made about contemplative prayer, I was shocked to hear it dismissed as less than Christian in comparison to Bible study.   I came late to the Christian contemplative tradition.  I was told to read the classic English spiritual text, The Cloud of Unknowing , by my theology professor at seminary.  I was reluctant, but when I finally read it, I found my spiritual life captivated.   The sole goal of the contemplative tradition, I learned, is  a deep, deep reconfiguration of our identity.  It aims to unite us with God  -- the very shaping of who we are.  Union with God is not something we acquire by technique b...

Those of us in the Church know this story well: Now Jesus and his disciples had to go through Samaria.  So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well.  It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (John 4.4-7) We all know how low this woman was in the social and religious hierarchy.  She's a woman.  That's low.  She's a Samaritan.  That's lower still.  She's been married five times.  Still lower.  She is currently living with yet another man.  Lower. If this woman wasn't at the bottom of every checklist, she's close to the bottom.  But  Jesus finds a way to lift her up.  He places himself lower.  He lifts her, in this conversation, to the superior position.  "Will you give me a drink?" Jesus doesn't com...

The reason I'm Anglican is The Book of Common Prayer .  It's rhythms of prayer continue to shape my Christian life in rather significant ways.  The most important way -- a way I celebrated in one of my theses in graduate school -- is the Christian practices of marking time.  More specifically, the Church Year. I didn't grow up with those patterns in any significant way.  Sure, we celebrated Christmas Day and Easter Day.  But nothing beyond the perfunctory observations.  It wasn't until college that these rhythms began soaking deep into my keeping time.  And, by far the hardest thing for me to get used to was Christmastide . What is "Christmastide"?  Simply put, it's 26th of December and it's still Christmas !   Christmastide lasts from the Feast of the Nativity (December 25) to the Feast of the Epiphany (January 6).  These are the proverbial "Twelve Days of Christmas".  You begin counting on Christmas Day ("on the first day ...

There are two reasons I'm livid that we've already been hearing and singing Christmas carols.  One is theological  and the other is doxological .  Theologically , Christmas doesn't begin until the Christ-mass tonight.  Then it continues for 12 days!  (That's why the song counts up , not down.). We've been in the midst of the Church's time to prepare for Jesus' comings -- plural:  Second & first.  That's why the season has been called "Advent" (coming from the Latin word for "arrival").  Our culture is so accustomed to instant gratification that waiting for anything  is painful.  It's a sign of the Church's spiritual health how we wait (see 2 Peter 3).  The fact that we've been jumping ahead with the caroling isn't cool.  Then, there's the doxological  complaint.  The way in which our culture sings these carols is all off.  We omit the really juicy claims of Christmas carols in order to support a facile worshi...

Most of us focus on the baby Jesus at Christmas -- cute, cuddley, and antiseptic.  There's nothing shocking about babies, though.  That's why I think we're most comfortable with Jesus at Christmas.  I, on the other hand, am shocked  at Christmas.  Every Christmas.  Why?  Because of who  this Baby Jesus is  and what he means  for our world.  The biblical Pharisees -- for all they misunderstand about Jesus -- have the right response.  They're shocked by him.  When the Pharisees see Jesus eating with sinners, they're sure the sinners will defile Jesus.  Because, as we all know, the  pollutant -- the tax collectors and sinners -- defiles Jesus, the pure.  The negative dominates over the positive.  The pollutant is the stronger force.  Thus it never occurs to the Pharisees, because it is psychologically counter-intuitive, that Jesus' presence might sanctify or purify those sinners he is eating...

My new article -- "Let This Mind Be In You:  On Sex and Spirituality in Men" -- is now online.  You can read it here . 

Nietzsche famously proclaimed in The Gay Science :  "God is dead".  According to Nietzsche, by our very own actions, we have made God unnecessary in our world.  Science, so it seemed, had progressed to provide atheological answers to the origin, purpose and even end of the universe and all biological life.  Psychology began exploring the depths of the human mind with scientific detail, largely now dispelling notions of "free will" in neuroscience.  Economics and sociology began providing scientific responses to how humans emerge in groups and interact.  So as Nietzsche saw it, we had progressed to that point when we had killed off God.  " God is dead.  God remains dead.  And we have killed him.  Yet his shadow still looms." Thing is, Nietzsche, even as an atheist, was doing theology.   We're all theologians -- even if we don't believe in God.  Whenever there's a tragedy, we grope for answers.   How can children be sold int...

When all other words are inadequate or when I just can't find the words for sighs and groans too deep for words, there's the Psalter.  Today, there's Psalm 13: How long, O Yahweh? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long will my mind be perplexed, and grief in my heart, day after day? How long will my enemies triumph over me? Look upon me and answer, O Yahweh my God; give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death; Lest my enemies say, "We have prevailed over him", and my foes rejoice that I've fallen.  But I put my trust in your loving mercy; my heart is joyful because of your saving help.  I will sing to Yahweh, for he has dealt with me richly; I will praise the Name of the Most High. 

Someone asked me recently what I thought the number one lesson of marriage is.  They were particularly interested what the number one lesson of marriage might be that I've learned personally .  My response went something like this:  "Care about very little". Puzzled, they pressed me:  "What do you mean?" "Well," I continued, "say you care about how the toothpaste should be squeezed.  Some people care a lot that it be squeezed properly.  Or you might care about if the toilet roll hang a certain way.  Seriously, some people like the roll to hang over the top and some from the bottom.  Or you might care about when you should open Christmas presents.  Your husband or wife might like to do it on Christmas Eve when you think that's an abomination before the Lord.  Presents on Christmas morning for you. "You might care about what kind of car to buy.  Or what color it should be.  You might care about the square footage necessary for yo...

The church's new year begins on the First Sunday of Advent.  The church year, as many of you know, is structured around following Jesus through life as his disciples.  So, every three years we cycle through the Gospels.  This year is the year of Matthew.   In beginning the Gospel where few of us do -- with the "back story" of Israel's story the culminates in Jesus the Messiah -- Matthew 1 has an interesting beginning that brings into question our notions of where God might actually begin his story:  In scandal.   Let's take a closer look at the  genealogy of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew 1.1-17: A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham: Abraham was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers, Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar, Perez the father of Hezron, Hezron the father of Ram, Ram the father of Amminadab, Amminadab the father of Nahsh...

Someone asked recently, " What do you most miss about parish ministry?" My response was quick and decisive:  Being pastorally and liturgically with the sad and the struggling, the sick and the suffering, the dying and the grieving.  Because these spaces are bullshit-free zones, and because there, for faith, the tire hits the road and we discover whether we are travelling on Pirellis or budgets.