Santiago and Teresa What if a Sabbath isn’t just about rest? We first encounter Sabbath when God finished the work of creating the world and rested on the seventh day (Gen 2:2). In the next verse, God blesses the seventh day and declares it hallowed (or holy). I’ve heard preaching about the Sabbath for years and many times the admonition is to attend a worship service and reframe from all work. I’ve always been a churchgoer, but as hard as I’ve tried, I’ve never been able to come close to avoidi...
Sep 06, 2022•3 min
A new book by Norman Wirzba has redefined “agrarian” for me. He says that it shouldn’t be reduced to a “farmer” but instead include all people who work to promote the health and vitality of creatures in their places, understanding that “a human life cannot flourish apart from good food, clean water, amiable company, good work, excellent tools, fertile soil, pollinating bees, helpful neighbors, protein-producing herbivores, and strong traditions of memory that pass on essential insights and skill...
Aug 02, 2022•5 min
A man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years was healed by Jesus in Bethesda (John 5:1-15). In Luke 8:43-48, Jesus healed a woman who had been suffering from hemorrhages for twelve years in Capernaum. I’ve wondered about the healing miracles. How did Jesus choose who to heal? It appears that having faith (or having friends or loved ones with faith) has a lot to do with it. The invalid had been suffering long before Jesus was even born, and we presume that the woman had recently come to f...
Jul 25, 2022•3 min
In 1 Corinthians 12, Paul talks about the body as a unit being made up of many parts and that God has arranged them all just the way God wanted them (18). Paul goes on to say, “those parts of the body that seem weaker are indispensable (22). I was glad to re-read these verses this week for reassurance that all God has made is important and all works together to serve God. In March I fell in some water at the house and broke my right kneecap resulting in surgery in April. I’ve been in a knee immo...
May 12, 2022•3 min
I return to thoughts of my time walking the Camino de Santiago in Spain in 2019 almost every day. It was my last great adventure before the pandemic and it was spiritually enriching, clarifying what retirement from full-time employment would look like. It was my Camino that eventually led to a renewed dedication to my faith and enrollment at Duke Divinity School in Durham, NC where I’ve just completed my second term in a Master of Divinity degree. It is a hybrid program so that I can continue to...
Apr 06, 2022•3 min
I’ve prayed with prayer beads for most of my life, both Roman Catholic rosaries and Anglican prayer beads. I like the flexibility with the Anglican prayer beads because there are no set prayers. Sometimes I pray for 33 of my friends; either for their health or in thanksgiving they are my friends. Other times I pray through the Psalms. It is this flexibility that led me to write: You Are Loved: Praying with John which has verses from the Gospel and Letters of John that are said with Anglican Pray...
Feb 22, 2022•11 min
As I embark on my quest to be a better disciple, I’ve been studying core courses at Duke University in Old Testament. I hear lots of Scripture read and preached each Sunday as we follow the Revised Common Lectionary, but I am coming to understand that the parts that we don’t read in the three-year cycle may be as important as those we do, particularly in understanding the character of God. My preconceived notion was that the God of the Old Testament was a vengeful God, whereas the Jesus of the N...
Feb 07, 2022•3 min
The Hebrew word for psalm, mizmôr , has a root that means “to pluck” as in a stringed instrument. The Psalms are meant to be sung as we hear in monasteries throughout the world. The Psalms are divided into five books, perhaps to suggest the division of the Torah, and are also grouped into five types: thanksgiving, royalty, wisdom, lament, and praise. Each Psalm can help us in different situations and today’s reading is from Psalm 85. Verse 8 is: “I will listen to what the Lord God is saying, For...
Dec 15, 2021•2 min
The story is familiar: this is the season where we await the birth of a baby that changed the world. Growing up Roman Catholic and now Episcopalian, I enjoy the familiar rhythms of the liturgical year. Advent starts the new year with four Sundays before the Christmas season. With Ol’ St. Nick and gift exchanges, everyone knows the story of the baby in the manger born under the stars surrounded by parents and a few barnyard animals. It’s a lovely story of a cooing baby who is born of humble begin...
Nov 30, 2021•4 min
Many churches have “stewardship campaigns” in the fall when church members pledge how much they will be able to monetarily support the church in the coming year. Knowing this amount and applying historical information allows churches to predict both income and expenses to ensure a balanced budget. In Deuteronomy we are instructed to “set aside a tenth” of the following resources: seed, grain, wine, oil, and firstlings of herds and flocks, and to gather our family and extended family to eat the m...
Nov 08, 2021•3 min
Osamu Fujimura by Bruce Herman November 1 is All Saints’ Day where we celebrate the Communion of Saints. We’ve lost many loved ones these past 20 months and we’ve had little time to grieve. This is my last week of Preaching class at Duke Divinity School and I chose to preach on the Gospel reading for today from the Gospel of John. We’ll be moving the actual celebration to next Sunday so that we can celebrate together and welcome new members into our church through baptism. It’s a little over 10 ...
Nov 01, 2021•10 min
This week’s preaching assignment is to provide the CONCLUSION only to a sermon. I chose the Gospel reading in Mark when James and John ask Jesus to be appointed to sit at his right and left hand. This is a short one: 1:44. Here’s the link to the video: Video#4 Agatha Nolen Mark 10_35-45_Trim.mp4
Oct 18, 2021•2 min
This week’s Preaching assignment was to tell something that we know about God (in 3 minutes). I know God is a miracle worker and here is the story. Blessings, Agatha link to video: https://vimeo.com/622565021
Oct 05, 2021•3 min
Our first “full-length” sermon was due this week for Preaching in the Digital Age Class and I’ve included it here. I value your feedback to make me a better preacher. The first 1:50 is a reading of the text from the NRSV and the remainder is the homily. I read from the text, but the sermon was preached without a manuscript. Could you answer the following questions in evaluating my sermon? In one sentence, what was the sermon about? What was the “Good News” from the Scripture? Did I convince you ...
Sep 28, 2021•14 min
This week in our Preaching in the Digital Age class we learned a lot about technology and its usefulness in spreading the Good News both through worship services and extemporaneous short homilies posted on social media. Father Cathie does a 2 minute “GOOD NEWS” episode each Monday morning on social media. We are learning a lot about what works and doesn’t work, but also to accept that mistakes will happen! This week’s Scripture for our Preaching practice is 1 Corinthians 3:1-9. We have a few min...
Sep 14, 2021•4 min
In our Spiritual Formation class for first-year M.Div. students we are reading, So Much Better: How Thousands of Pastors Help Each Other Thrive (The SPE Peer Learning Project) (2013). The early chapters of the book talk about forming peer groups of ministers and pastors who, “(1) gather around their calling; (2) make an intentional covenant for spiritual support, theological challenge and mutual accountability; (3) spend time with one another in prayer, at meals, and through travel; and (4) take...
Sep 08, 2021•4 min
Last week was “intensive week” at Duke Divinity School. Yes, I’ve enrolled in the 4-year M.Div.-Hybrid program where I’ll be on campus in Durham, NC three weeks each year (August, January, May) and then have synchronous on-line classes for the remainder of the semesters. I won’t be in an ordination track but instead hope to be a better disciple and devote more time and attention to serving as a lay leader in my church. I fully expected to approach these studies as I had with all other academic p...
Sep 01, 2021•4 min
In The God of Intimacy and Action: Reconnecting Ancient Spiritual Practices, Evangelism and Justice , Tony Campolo writes: “The good news is there are spiritual practices that enable us to be renewed spiritually and have that “first love” with God again and again.” One spiritual discipline uses the ancient practice of praying with prayer beads. I’ve written a new book, You Are Loved: Praying with John to provide you with selections from the Gospel and Letters of John that will reinforce God’s lo...
Aug 16, 2021•3 min
In Ephesians Chapters 4-5, Paul provides us with practical advice on how to best live in our neighborhood. In addition to “putting away falsehood”, Paul tells us to be “kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.” These words echo hollowly in my head when I scroll through my Facebook feed, or glance at the evening news. Most posts appear to be anything but kind. Paul talks about speaking truth to each other not only because it is the right thing to do but also because as a communi...
Aug 04, 2021•4 min
Only in John’s Gospel do we read the story of Jesus healing the paralytic at the Bethesda Pool by the Sheep’s Gate in Jerusalem. Tradition held that the first person immersed in the water would be completely healed. When Jesus encounters a man outside the pool and learns he has been an invalid for 38 years he asks him if he wants to get well (John 5:6). The man really doesn’t answer Jesus’ question but complains, “ I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am tryi...
Jul 26, 2021•4 min
Two years ago I started planning for my retirement from full-time employment in healthcare and I also started an informal process of “discernment” about what I would be doing with all the “extra time”. In my denomination, Episcopal, there is a formal process for those seeking ordination to the clergy or diaconate. I’ve served on a handful of those committees and as part of the process asked myself if I was feeling a calling to become clergy. In all cases, the answer has returned as a “no.” I kne...
Jul 14, 2021•4 min
Much of art depicts the struggle of man against man in the spiritual quest for meaning. Picasso was renowned in Cubism in being able to take a familiar object, dismantle it and then re-assemble it. It is still recognizable, but in a distinctly new form. I had the privilege of revisiting a favorite artwork: Man on Fire , the mural by José Clemente Orozco in the cupola of the Hospicio Cabañas, Guadalajara. It has become known as the Sistine Chapel of the Americas and my hosts were Michael and Ceci...
Jun 28, 2021•3 min
My parents instilled in me that decisions have consequences. It was unfortunate that Jon Rahm had to withdraw from the Memorial Golf Tournament this weekend for a positive COVID-19 test after taking a 6-shot lead on Saturday. Jon missed out on winning the tournament and also the $1.675 million top prize. Rahm has made over $3.8 million on the Tour this year with a current ranking of #12 of money-earners. In addition, he will have to self-isolate for 10 days which will mean a shortened practice s...
Jun 08, 2021•10 min
Cheekwood, Nashville, TN, 2021 Yesterday was Pentecost Sunday where the Christian denominations celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples as detailed in the Book of Acts, chapter 2. Matthias had replaced Judas and we read that all the disciples were together in one place where they experienced a violent wind and saw tongues of fire while they were filled with the Holy Spirit. The structure of the liturgical year reminds us of significant happenings in the life of Christ so that we...
May 24, 2021•2 min
The Prodigal Son, Rembrandt van Rijn, c. 1669, The Hermitage Museum, St Petersburg, Russia I’ve enjoyed photography ever since I received my first Kodak camera when I was ten years old. Photos hold memories of travels and people and the experiences we’ve shared. They also have allowed me to dwell in God’s creation like birds at the zoo, or a mountain range at dawn, when a moment is captured forever. As we begin venturing out from the pandemic, I’m taking my digital camera along with me and I’m o...
May 10, 2021•3 min
SSJE, Cambridge, MA I participated in a live-stream on May 1, 2021 of the Holy Eucharist celebrating the Feast of St. John the Evangelist with the Brothers of the Episcopal Monastery in Cambridge, MA. Ordinarily, as members of the Fellowship of St. John the Evangelist, we would participate in-person, but the guesthouse and chapel continue to be closed to visitors due to the pandemic. In addition to an inspiring service with three short homilies from the Brothers, the Superior, Br. James Koester ...
May 03, 2021•4 min
The Garden Tomb, Jerusalem, 2011 It was more than a week ago that we re-enacted the Passion of Christ on Good Friday. As we bask in the glory of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday we often forget the instruction of the thieves that were crucified with Jesus. Each of the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Luke and Mark) recounts the thieves joining with the chief priests, teachers and elders in hurling insults at Jesus on the cross, demanding that he demonstrate that he is truly the Messiah by saving...
Apr 12, 2021•4 min
Akko, Israel, Nov 2011 One of my daily meditations this week was Romans 11:29- “for God’s gifts and his call are irrevocable.” Most commentaries remark that this short verse contains God’s promises to us that through His covenants He will never forsake us. His gifts to us are those of pardon, peace, joy, sanctification, and eternal life. The same commentators remark that the “calling of God” denotes how God extends an invitation to come and partake of his favors whether by personal revelation to...
Mar 29, 2021•3 min
Sunrise, Sea of Galilee, November 2011 I’ve been a morning person most of life with a hospital career that often started at 6AM or earlier. I took up photography later in life and learned that the “magic hours” for outdoor photographs are either first thing in the morning (right before sunrise until 30-40 minutes after the sun has risen), or right before the setting sun. During this time, the sun is low on the horizon and filtered through atmospheric particles that scatter blue light and allow w...
Mar 03, 2021•3 min
Growing up Roman Catholic in a small town in Upstate NY, confession with a priest was a weekly ritual. In the 1960’s, you couldn’t go to communion unless you had confessed and said your “penance” of Our Fathers and Hail Marys. Times have changed and now that I am an Episcopalian, it appears that in most congregations a public confession is more of an annual and optional custom during Lent, even among my Roman Catholic friends. Of course, we are always encouraged to make private confessions direc...
Feb 19, 2021•4 min
