The Celtic Monk

Yesterday was a roller coaster ride of experiences and emotions. In the morning I said good-bye to the congregation of Moorings Presbyyerian Church which I served for a little over 18 months. From the farewell, I enjoyed lunch with new friends and then off to preach for the installation of the newest member of Peace River Presbytery at Vanderbilt. A warm welcome of a new ministry is so heartening, both for the minister and the congregation. The words of promise and affirmation to Ed on the occasion of his new call renewed my hope in the Church. I keep finding myself in bittersweet times like yesterday. Sad to be leaving a place where, my heart tells me, my work was not yet finished. Yet at the same time excited for what God has in mind. It feels as though I am living at the vanishing point. I can well see what was behind and cannot yet see what's ahead. The constant in the divergence of experiences yesterday was the center of peace amidst the emotions. In the morning when Ki...

I often make a little detour on my way home that takes me through the protected wetlands that surround the airport. On any given day its like going to the zoo. There are anhinga's drying their wings, wild pigs and turkey, deer,egrets, giant blue heron and in season several sand hill cranes. At dusk one day this past spring a panther crossed the small access road right in front of my car! Also depending on the season I watch the water level of the wetlands rise and fall. Since it's our rainy season, the once parched fields look like perfect lakes that stretch on and on. All manner of animal and foul make their way around the fertile shore looking for a meal. No matter the stress of my day one loop through the wetlands has almost an anesthetizing affect on my soul. I'm so please to catch a glimpse of one of God's 'wild things.' I feel so privileged to have this opportunity to observe these creatures in their natural habitat just being what they were meant to ...

Friday was a big day. Our three year old grand-daughter Lauren arrived at 7:30 in the morning ready for a full day of fun things to do. On the schedule was a little maintenance around the house, a trip to the beach, haircuts for all of us and then a trip to the play park to dig up a few artifacts. Twice during the day, I listened to a new phrase from Lauren that I'd never heard before. "Hey Papa, Wait Up!" The first time he'd walked out the front door and out towards the car port. Not knowing where he was going was more than she could stand. And a 'hey papa, wait up" sounded as she ran after him. The second time was at the beach as we bobbed in the warm Gulf waters. Papa had already done a little diving to find treasures in the sand and brought back several live sand dollars that we held in our hands and watched the soft hairs around their breathing hole open and close. Then as we sat in the shallow water, he'd told us to sit very still as a pod of...

As my colleagues have gone on vacation this month, I'm looking ahead to preaching the remaining four Sunday's in August. I'm so pleased that as I began to prepare I found that the lectionary takes us to the Gospel of John. It's not the particular content which will begin this Sunday in John's 6th chapter that makes my heart pitter-patter, rather, how John approaches Jesus on every page of his Gospel. John, like me, sees the mystery, the unknown and the unknowable in this man Jesus. John believes that our human understanding will only take us so far and lest God meet us, we will remain clueless. The way past the sleepiness of our comprehension for John is this man Jesus. And one of the first things John would have us know about Jesus is that He is no mere man at all... but God Incarnate. Jesus is unlike anyone who came before Him and there will not be another after Him. It's not our human reasoning that will bring us to these things, no matter the score we ear...