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 speakerAdvent 2 Year W
This week the sacred stories converge to tell a story of a holy family that extends beyond a nuclear family or even a single lineage. It begins with the family we might today call Iraqi who will become the ancestral parents of the people who will come to be called Israel, a reminder that we...... Read More
Two Sisters Tell Their Story About Their Father Lot
An excerpt from my womanist midrash of the story of the two sisters commonly called “Lot’s daughters” on thetorah.com. The story is usually referred to as “Lot and His Daughters” or some such locution that emphasizes Lot’s place as the protagonist of the biblical story. The story can also be read as the sisters’ story,...... Read More
Good Fruit. Bad Fruit. Strange Fruit. The Gospel According to Rizpah
A Women’s Lectionary for the Whole Church, Year W, Proper 24 (Closest to October 19): 2 Samuel 21:1-14; Psalm 58; Revelation 6:9-11; Luke 6:43-45 Yesterday, we talked about the women’s stories in scripture that we do and do not hear taught and preached. Sometimes we don’t hear stories of women because their pieces are scattered...... Read More
Raphael and the Virgin Bride
If this sermon was a steampunk novel, its title would be, “On the Feast of Raphael and All Angels, a Sexually Frustrated Virgin, a Young Man Willing to Do the Deed, an Angel in Drag, a Dog, a Fish, a Demon and, a Backyard Full of Bodies: A Sermon From Tobit.” Let us pray: God...... Read More
A Lamentation for the Daughters of Afghanistan
I am devastated by the news coming out of Afghanistan, the wholesale abduction and rape of girls and women, forced illiteracy, poverty, slaughter, endless war. Today I lament. First in the words of scripture. Then mine adapted from a long ago sermon. Tomorrow I curse. This is a wailing; and it shall be wailed. The...... Read More
What Are You Hungry For? Money. Sex. Power.
Today’s readings come from the Women’s Lectionary Year W Proper 9: 1 Samuel 2:12–17, 22–25; Psalm 49:1–2, 5–9, 16–17; 1 Timothy 6:6–16; Luke 16:10–13 The sermon may be viewed at All Saints Kauai. The message begins at 26 minutes. It’s good to be back on my island home. Much mahalo to Kahu Kawika for the...... Read More
Prayer for Jerusalem and Gaza
God of Peace, God of Justice, We pray for the dying and the dead. We pray for the grieving and the suffering. We pray for the violent and their victims. We pray for the dignity and security of all peoples. We pray for a peace that is just and equitable. We pray for the people...... Read More
AmeriKKKa is a Racist Nation
America, AmeriKKKa, is a racist country. The United States is a racist nation. It is a white supremacist construct. This nation was built by the stolen labor of enslaved Africans on stolen land and cemented by the under-compensated torturous labor of abused Chinese immigrants. The working class and middle class built on this foundation –with...... Read More
The Mark of Cain: Marked for Death, Marked for Life
Let us pray: In the name of God whose mercy is just and whose justice is merciful. Amen. (Audio on multiple platforms available here.) To be black in America is to bear the Mark of Cain, not because God turned Cain black for his sin as generations of racist biblical interpreters proclaimed, but because this...... Read More