Wil
Biblical scholar in Hebrew and Hebrew Bible: special interest in translation textual plurality, (Septuagint, Dead Seas Scrolls, Samaritan Pentateuch, Aleppo Codex, Leningrad Codex); feminist, womanist and post-colonial biblical interpretation; prophets and prophecy in the Ancient Near East and ancient Israel Episcopal priest, product of the Black Church, author, blogger, preacher, teacher, lecturer, public speakerLove in the Wilderness
Let us pray: May the written word through the spoken word draw us to the living Word. Amen. Lent is a wilderness carved out in space and time with prayer, self-sacrifice, fasting, meditation, self-examination and, the study of the scriptures. All of these are wilderness ways. Yet, there is more than one kind of wilderness....... Read More
Feast of the Annunciation
Gentle Followers, I am behind and off-track. My calendar is a wilderness of commitments. I wanted to leave you a world for the next nine months: Marytide. In the midst of the Lenten season as we prepare to walk the way of Calvary, a way of suffering and death, we are also walking the way...... Read More
Lent 4
The theme of the fourth Sunday of Lent is often lighter than the other Sundays, traditionally focusing on joy and rejoicing while the other Sundays may focus heavily on repentance. Here the theme is the joy of love. The first lesson focuses on the love of a woman for her beloved, the psalm, the faithful...... Read More
Lent 5
The first lesson contains the words of a prophet speaking to Israel’s restoration after their decimation, deportations and exile. We read it affirming God’s fidelity past and present, without erasing or negating the original cultural context. The psalm is a riot of praise for all of God’s works. (Year W was not initially conceived of...... Read More
Hermeneutics of Reversal: Widow of Zarephath
Let us pray: Wisdom of the Ages, whisper to us words of life from your words and mine. Amen. Self-examination and repentance. Prayer, fasting and self-denial. Study of the scriptures and meditation upon them. These are the pillars of a holy Lent. Lent can be a hungry time. Hunger for things missed never...... Read More
Lent 3
The world is a hostile place. The garden stories in Genesis give voice to an ancestral memory that it was not always thus. These stories also articulate the Iron Age theology the permeates much of the scriptures, that the difficulties humanity faces must be their own fault. Yet the world is also a glorious creation...... Read More
Translating for Thirsty Ears and Hungry Eyes
A lecture given at First Unitarian Universalist Church in Houston, 13 March 2022. ... Read More
Lent 2
Self-examination is one of the pillars of Lent that I find to be often overlooked. Today’s lessons provide an opportunity to examine ourselves and our stories, the stories our ancestors told about themselves and that we continue to tell about ourselves. The stories about the genesis of humanity also allow us to reflect on the...... Read More
Lent 1
Umm, did you mean to/why did you use an Easter reading for Lent?! I received this text and call more than once. This week’s readings invite us to reflect on the whole of our human story from the dust of our creation to the hope of our redemption, to carry that story with us as...... Read More
Ash Wednesday
Psalm 51 symbolizes this season of repentance and reflection and at the same time its use as a liturgy of confession illustrates the need for A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church. The Church has long prayed this psalm without its first verse, the verse that frames the psalm as a confession for the sexual...... Read More