St Thomas

Standing in a dirt road in Kajo Keji, South Sudan, I am immersed in a surreal scene. There are no paved roads, no electricity, no cars, no internet, and no cell service. Surrounded by a leper, a cripple, a blind grandmother being led by her granddaughter, it is as if I am walking through a scene in the gospels. Our diocese has finished building our third primary school in the county, and we are there to officially hand the keys over to their bishop and the village elders. Their joy, our joy, is indescribable. There is a feeling of electricity in the air. That feeling, of course, is love and New Hope for their beloved. The opening of this school, this gift from Bethlehem (Pennsylvania) to the people of Dwani, South Sudan, is a gift of unheard extravagance. And the poorest people on the earth proceed to give us a…

Throughout time, humans have been obsessed with all things large and grandiose. In ancient times, the pyramids were the quintessential example of this, massive structures built to deify pharaohs. The Colosseum, Parthenon, and other ancient wonders draw visitors to this day. In our time, we build towering skyscrapers, glittering metropolises, and larger-than-life government buildings. Even our homes are significantly larger: The average square footage of a house in 1920 was 1,048, as compared to 2,657 square feet in 2014. But bigger is better, right? After I read today’s Gospel lesson, I immediately related to the disciples’ awe of the temple. One of my favorite places in all of this country is Washington National Cathedral, just a mile from where my mother and her sisters were born and raised. I’ve been to the cathedral multiple times over the years, most recently after we buried my grandmother in 2014. It’s a place…

Every morning before 5 a.m., my great aunt Gladys rises to bake bread for the small island of Green Turtle Cay in the Bahamas. She’s been doing this six days a week for some 50 years. She shapes loaves in a small bake house behind her home and makes enough coconut bread, cinnamon raisin, and white sandwich loaves to sell at the store near the ferry’s dock. While the loaves rest during the first rising, Aunt Gladys goes off to Bible Study. When she returns, the loaves are prepped for the second rise and finally baked, bagged, and sent off to be sold. Aunt Gladys has put her children through school, supported missionary needs around the globe, and will tell you without prompting that she has never wanted for anything. When I think of sacrificial love and sacrificial giving, her strong hands kneading pounds of dough before sunrise come to…