If this sermon was a steampunk novel, its title would be, “On the Feast of Raphael and All Angels, a Sexually Frustrated Virgin, a Young Man Willing to Do the Deed, an Angel in Drag, a Dog, a Fish, a Demon and, a Backyard Full of Bodies: A Sermon From Tobit.” Let us pray: God...... Read More

I am devastated by the news coming out of Afghanistan, the wholesale abduction and rape of girls and women, forced illiteracy, poverty, slaughter, endless war. Today I lament. First in the words of scripture. Then mine adapted from a long ago sermon. Tomorrow I curse. This is a wailing; and it shall be wailed. The...... Read More

Today’s readings come from the Women’s Lectionary Year W Proper 9: 1 Samuel 2:12–17, 22–25; Psalm 49:1–2, 5–9, 16–17; 1 Timothy 6:6–16; Luke 16:10–13 The sermon may be viewed at All Saints Kauai. The message begins at 26 minutes. It’s good to be back on my island home. Much mahalo to Kahu Kawika for the...... Read More

God of Peace, God of Justice, We pray for the dying and the dead. We pray for the grieving and the suffering. We pray for the violent and their victims. We pray for the dignity and security of all peoples. We pray for a peace that is just and equitable. We pray for the people...... Read More

America, AmeriKKKa, is a racist country. The United States is a racist nation. It is a white supremacist construct. This nation was built by the stolen labor of enslaved Africans on stolen land and cemented by the under-compensated torturous labor of abused Chinese immigrants. The working class and middle class built on this foundation –with...... Read More

Let us pray: In the name of God whose mercy is just and whose justice is merciful. Amen. (Audio on multiple platforms available here.) To be black in America is to bear the Mark of Cain, not because God turned Cain black for his sin as generations of racist biblical interpreters proclaimed, but because this...... Read More

Our saints are ragged, like this world we walk upon. Our saints are broken, like the hearts that venerate them. Our saints are fleeting, like the memories that fade. Our saints are eternal, like the art they create.  Our saints are ours, like the culture those others try to steal. Our saints belong to us, we who share their wounds, their hopes, their...... Read More

Pleasant Hope, I was looking forward to being with you in person last year. I am grateful that we and technology found a way for me to be with you on this most holy day though I still hope for an in person visit. Know that I am praying with and for you during the...... Read More

(Sermon begins 1:57:46) In the Liturgy of the Palms we read: Matthew 21:5 “Tell the daughter of Zion, ‘Look, your sovereign is coming to you, humble, and mounted on a donkey…’” In Isaiah 45, an optional reading for the day, we hear: 7 Thus says the Faithful One, the Redeemer of Israel, God’s holy one,...... Read More

[Opening remarks at the Rainbow Theology workshop of the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes, for March 2021. Thanks to co-panelist Patrick Cheng for use of his book cover.] Human beings contain multitudes, multiverses, like our Creator. That she, he, they, One who is three, seven, twelve, many is ultimately inarticulable yet mysteriously, in some way...... Read More