“We do not serve an aloof God—or one who merely knows our pain. We follow a compassionate Lord who stepped into our deepest grief—and can be trusted to undo it…”

Mercy feels like a burden—until you need it. Then it breaks you open and makes you merciful…

The kingdom’s way only feels upside-down because we’ve been living upside-down. In the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus isn’t flipping life on its head—he’s setting it right-side up, revealing the Good Life we were made for…

Today's reading is not a merit story. Peter isn’t seeking wisdom or asking for help—he’s exhausted, frustrated, and, frankly, annoyed.

His response to Jesus’ call is passive-aggressive at best. And yet, Christ still gives him the prize.

Grace strips him bare, exposing his pettiness, his self-absorption, the gap between the life he wants and the life he’s living. And in that moment—raw, humbled, undone—Christ says, “Do not be afraid.”

For in Christ’s kingdom, only the wounded can serve.

In Christ’s service, only the humble are of use.

“We spend so much of our lives curating a version of ourselves that we think will be accepted. Even when we long to be known, muscle memory kicks in, and we hold back, fearing rejection. Similarly, the terror of the Law is that before God there’s no hiding. But the good news of the gospel is that though we are fully seen we are completely loved.”

“We Episcopalians are right to present Jesus as a revolutionary, but we often hesitate to proclaim him as the Son of God. It’s as if we’re shy about asserting the fullness of his identity—embarrassed by the thought of claiming too much. But, friends, if Jesus isn’t the living Lord, then all the mercy we cherish is still buried with him in that tomb…”

Epiphany reveals that God’s mercy must never be separated from his glory. Without his majesty, his love becomes mere sentiment. Yet in his compassion lies the power to triumph over sin, death, and all that seeks to destroy us…

The bearer of the winnowing fork has made common cause with the chaff…

The “dividing wall of hostility” has been torn down, but we’ve spent a whole lot of time trying to reassemble its fractured bricks. Still, the One who began tearing down the insider/outsider distinction can be trusted to finish the job He started…

The King sought by the Magi came not just for the chosen, the celebrated, or the deserving, but for the stranger, the outcast, and even the ungodly…