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Holy Week Trilogy Part 3: Alone

1 Comment / God, Holy Week, Lent, Spiritual Disciplines / By /

Matthew 27:43-50 Good Friday opened with Jesus once again in the midst of crowds, only this time the voices were jeering and mocking. Romans and Jews alike were shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” and “Hail, king of the Jews!” The way to Golgotha was lined with onlookers taunting him with bad theology and sarcastic insults. Matthew spares us any details of the actual crucifixion, but dwells on the reactions of spectators. Which one am I in that crowd? Of the “seven last words of Christ” found in the gospels, Matthew records only one: “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?”—which means, “My God, […]

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Holy Week Trilogy Part 2: Strength Together, Solidarity Apart

2 Comments / Holy Week, Lent, Spiritual Disciplines / By /

Matthew 26:17-30; 36-46 Holy Week feels like a new experience this year while living under “stay at home” orders. One day merges into another, and yet again, I forget what day of the week it is. Ordinarily I would be going to services for Maundy Thursday and Good Friday and anticipating worship with the family of God on Easter Sunday. Alongside those expectations, I would be going to work and enjoying scheduled interactions at church or in the neighborhood. But physical distancing—now three weeks for us—is stretching my introversion to the limit. Today I feel a bit depressed without the

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Holy Week Trilogy Part I: Headlong into Trouble

7 Comments / Anxiety, Holy Week, Leadership and Spirituality, Lung Cancer, Personal / By /

Luke 19:45:48 Many of my readers are aware that in 2013-14, I faced Stage 3 lung cancer, enduring six months of treatment—radiation, chemotherapy, and surgery—and coming out the other side “cured” (my doctor’s word). Officially NED (“No evidence of disease”) for six years now, and yes, I am celebrating the success of all that effort. Unfortunately, the fact that I gave up a lung lobe and developed asthma makes me “high risk” for serious complications if I were to contract Covid-19. I serve part-time as chaplain at a Level 2 Trauma Center that now has an Incident Command Center to

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God’s Promise of Safety

7 Comments / Anxiety, Romans 8 / By /

A teeny-tiny virus that when magnified looks worse than ragweed pollen has made us cower. My county has restricted movement and assembly for twelve days now. We all hope this intentional isolation will work to curb the spread of coronavirus, and it is wisdom and prudence to stay home, stay disinfected, and keep one’s distance from others. It’s a gift we give to our neighbors and the world, to “keep our germs to ourselves,” as my mother used to say. The great temptation we are facing these days is to go beyond prudence and sink into feelings of insecurity and

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Self-Quarantine as Soul Rest

8 Comments / Anxiety, Current Events, Spiritual Disciplines / By /

The strongly-recommended “shelter-in-place” guidelines just issued in our county remind me of a season in the life of Menlo Park Presbyterian Church. It would have been in the late 1970’s or maybe early 1980’s—can’t remember—and the pastor Walt Gerber decreed a six-week sabbatical for the entire church. Everything but Sunday worship was suspended because he sensed that the congregation (and he himself, I believe) were exhausted and needed deep soul-rest. Quite a bold move for a church in a period of rapid expansion and program development. Everybody needed adrenalin-withdrawal and blood pressure checks while reinforcing spiritual practices. My recollection is

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Taking a Blogging Break

3 Comments / Personal / By /

Hello readers, I’ve taken a look at my calendar of the next few weeks, and the crazy schedule is going to make blog writing impossible. I have placed higher priority on finishing a book, so that project is getting my best writing hours in the morning. Right now, as mentioned last week, my afternoon free time is taken up with various medical appointments—all routine check-ups— and procedures (including the removal of my vein access port, authorized last week by my oncologist). I just wanted you to know that my silence is for positive reasons, and that I am doing well

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Knowing What’s Good for Us

Leave a Comment / God, Sermon Illustrations / By /

I was walking the 1.5 miles home from my doctor’s appointment this morning, along busy Treat Boulevard, when I came upon a goose and her four goslings. Mama apparently wanted to take the kids out for a walk—water nowhere in sight—and chose to parade down Treat Boulevard. Two lanes of traffic were blocked by motorists either enthralled or frustrated with the slow-motion chase I was on. I tried to herd the birds back onto the sidewalk, but Mama was getting mad at my interference. I even called 911 for traffic help, but the dispatcher said, “We don’t dispatch police officers

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The Frustrating War Within

4 Comments / Food, Personal, Spiritual Disciplines / By /

Every six months, I go through the medical surveillance that tracks the signs of health and/or disease in my body. Last Wednesday, I underwent the CT scan, and six hours later my oncologist called to tell me, “It looks great! No changes! All is well.” When all my testing is done next week, I fully expect the all-clear and won’t have to think about cancer for six months, heart disease for maybe five years, skin cancer for a year, colon cancer for five years, female cancers for two years, yada, yada . . . But there is one dumb thing

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What If You Asked?

Leave a Comment / Personal, Prayer / By /

I spent the morning at the dentist being “crowned.” Nothing traumatic to report; in fact, Dr. H. did a great job numbing my lower left jaw with three Novocain shots. This is why I am known in her office as the woman with nerves of steel. Afterwards, I delayed going to work at the hospital, since I did not want to drool on patients while my mouth was anesthetized. Just as that tingling sensation of tissues waking up started, I jumped in the car for the five-minute and 1.25 mile drive to John Muir Hospital for my Monday shift. Within

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The Seedbed of Power and Influence

4 Comments / History, Lung Cancer, Naegeli's Laws, Parnell v. San Francisco, PCUSA, Personal, Writer's Life / By /

In anticipation of a stellar 80° day, Andy and I headed out Saturday morning to explore the John Muir Historic Site. We toured a visitor’s center and the Martinez home where the famous “wilderness tramp” John Muir lived and raised a family for 24 years. John Muir was born in Scotland in 1838 to strict Presbyterian parents, who immigrated to Wisconsin when John was still a boy. He showed promise as an inventor, an interest that motivated him to study at university. But before graduating—he dropped out in 1863—he made a tour on foot of Iowa, Illinois, and Canada and

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