(On Matthew 2:1-12) "The one we call the Prince of Peace, who comes to us in the frail vulnerability of a newborn child comes with a promise that precedes any lasting peace — and that promise is indeed the stirring up of that which we need to remain still — the setting in motion of utter upheaval."

(On Genesis 32: 21-31) "You shall be called Israel, God tells him. Because you have striven with man and with God. Striven. Wrestled. Gotten dusty with. Touched and held on and refused to let go. God reminds Jacob that he is made for relationship."

(On Gen 1:1 - 2:4) "We are made in the image of a God who contains multitudes. Who is diverse within God’s own being. We, all of us, were created in the image of limitless love, of a multiplicity of identities."

(On Luke 24: 12-35) "In all the rituals Christ enacted and taught — in baptism, in washing, in storytelling, and serving others, challenging injustice, and above all at Table, in cup and bread, we are reminded again and again, that Jesus is as familiar to us, as present with us, as the daily need for food and drink, even when we cannot recognize it. He is never far away, but always with us – in the ordinary moments and in a world turned strange. Walking alongside us. Sharing our pain. Filling us where we are empty. And inviting us to join in his work."

(On 1 Kings 19: 9-15, & Galatians 3: 23-29) "It may feel to us, as it has this past week, like that wilderness is so very wide. Like the distance between us and the world to which we are called is so very far. But we are called to be the church in this world. And the world is crying out for sanctuary, and God is looking at us."

(On 1 Kings 17:8-16) "As Christians, we believe that we are called to be generous. To work for justice. To care for creation, to serve others and especially to help those who are most vulnerable. But I think this question of enough often gets us stuck. In a world as broken as ours: where do we begin? And perhaps a more troubling question: where do we stop? For surely if we tried to solve every problem and meet every need, we would lose everything—maybe even die—while hardly making a dent in all that’s wrong in this world."

(On Acts 16: 9-15) "I wonder what might have happened if Paul had only been willing to see that man from his vision. What if he had not been open to another encounter, to someone who he didn’t expect and couldn’t envision? What if he had discounted Lydia because of her 'woman card?'"

(On Luke 24: 1-12) "Their world is the resurrected one—the one that, through Christ’s conquering of death, is being made new and whole even then. It isn’t something unfamiliar—it is the world they know. They just must learn to see it, and themselves, with new eyes. Resurrection eyes."

(On Matthew 2: 1-12) "Jesus Christ comes into this world not just for us and those like us, but for everyone. We are all bound up in his love and we are all called to journey across the barriers of brokenness that separate us to be with him and with one another."

(On Luke 2: 1-7) "But this year, the old well-known story of Christmas reminds us anew that the God who didn’t hesitate to come to us in a messy manger, will never be stopped by the messiness of this world. And God won’t be stopped by the messiness of our own lives either. God reaches us no matter what. God comes in love by any means necessary."