Life of an Ordained Geek

July 26, 2026 Romans 8:26-39Matthew 13:31-33, 44-52 Over the next few weeks we’re likely to start seeing one of our famous Hawaiian birds again. We’re approaching the time of year when the kolea make their 3000 mile non-stop flight from Alaska to Hawai’i where, like sensible birds, they’ll spend the winter. A myna and a kolea happened to be scrounging for worms and insects side-by-side one…

July 19, 2026 Psalm 86:11-17Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43 The koa’e kea (white-tailed tropicbird) loved to fly. She loved to fly over the sea, and to hover over the water before diving to capture a fish or squid. She loved to fly over the land as well, to feel the thermals lift her wings as she crossed from sea to shore. And of course, as a koa’e kea from Hawai’i Island, she loved to fly around the…

“I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.” – Psalm 86:12 My heart is fractured, God. Let’s face it, it’s been broken bythe disappointments and betrayals ofmy all-too-human life. What mortar canrebuild the broken soul? My heart is fractured, God. My heart is torn by contradictions, pulling mefrom one side to the other. Ifit were a matter…

July 12, 2026 Isaiah 55:10-13Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23 In all her lifetime, there was a grove of ohi’a that had never, ever blossomed. Admittedly, she was young. There hadn’t been a great deal of her lifetime for the ohi’a to blossom. But they never had, she knew. Because that stand of trees was really handy, she had visited it regularly when she was younger – which wasn’t a long time ago, you…

July 5, 2026 Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30 It was her first time to be leader of the flock. She greatly appreciated the responsibility. Look at all those birds – twenty or more – who would rely on her to help them find food and shelter and safety. There were ‘apapane like herself, there were ‘amakihi, there were ‘akepa, there was even a pair of ‘alawi and a remarkably…

“For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon’; the Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds.” – Matthew 11:18-19 There was a time they said I looked like Jesus. Ihad grown my hair quite long, and wore a beardwhose scraggly thinness I would not…

June 28, 2026 Jeremiah 28:5-9Matthew 10:40-42 I’m not a fisherman. You’re not likely to find me along the shore with a long fishing rod or standing in the shallows somewhere with a net. What I do know about fishing, however, is a piece of advice I’ve only picked up in recent years. “It’s called fishing, not catching. There’s a reason for that.” People who fish spend more time not catching…

“And the prophet Jeremiah said, ‘Amen! May the LORD do so; may the LORD fulfill the words that you have prophesied and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the LORD and all the exiles.'” – Jeremiah 28:6 I hoped I’d have a simple life. I hadambition, certainly. I would succeedbut in a nation resting in its justice, peace,its people living all in righteousness. It was…

June 21, 2026 Genesis 21:8-21Romans 6:1b-11 During the summer, some of the birds in the Hawaiian mountain forests like to gather into flocks. You’ve probably seen flocks of mynas around Hilo, and one evening I saw a big flock of cattle egrets, which was impressive, and I’ve also seen flocks of seven or eight nene flying about. Did you notice that those flocks have something in common? They…

“But Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, whom she had borne to Abraham, playing with her son Isaac. So she said to Abraham, ‘Cast out this slave woman with her son, for the son of this slave woman shall not inherit along with my son Isaac.'” – Genesis 21:9-10 They laughed, the boys at play.How many mothers watched? But onesaw threat and dissolution ofthe wealth expected for her own. How…

June 14, 2026 Exodus 19:2-8aMatthew 9:35-10:8 This may sound a little bit odd to you – it sounds a little bit odd to me – but one of the mynas that lives near our church decided to listen to the sermon. Without falling asleep, which is a nice trick. And as you know, I’ve been talking about God’s mercy recently. This myna woke up one morning and decided, “I’m going to be merciful today.” The…

“[Jesus said,] ‘As you go, proclaim the good news, “The kingdom of heaven has come near.” Cure the sick; raise the dead; cleanse those with a skin disease; cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment.'” – Matthew 10:7-8 Give without payment, O Lord? But I can’t.How will I eat, where will I sleep,if I don’t have a contract or letter of call? What do you mean, life has no…

June 7, 2026 Hosea 5:15-6:6Matthew 9:9-13, 18-26 Last week an oma’o had to learn that he couldn’t judge an entire species of bird because of the bad behavior of some of them. Specifically, he had to abandon his idea that all i’iwi are evil. It’s a pity that this week’s story is about an i’iwi that, well, had the bad habit of behaving badly. This was one of the i’iwi that would have given that…

[Jesus said,] “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'” – Matthew 9:13 Would you like to know what blessing is? asks Jesus:Watch me. Would you like to know what light is? asks Jesus:Watch me. Would you like to know what righteousness is? asks Jesus:Watch me. Would you like to know what love is? asks Jesus:Watch me. Would you like to know what honesty is? asks…

May 31, 2026 Genesis 1:1-2:4a2 Corinthians 13:11-13 A lot of the honeycreepers in the mountain forests have brightly colored feathers. I think I’ve mentioned that before. The ‘apapane and the i’iwi are bright red and black. The ‘amakihi and the ‘akiapola’au are bright yellow. The ‘elepaio has these fascinating speckles in its feathers, even if they aren’t all that vibrant. And then there’s the…

God saw everything that he had made, and indeed, it was very good. And there was evening and there was morning, the sixth day. – Genesis 1:31 Praise the Poet, Breath and Wind and Word,who movement on the waters stirred up lightand night and land and sea, stars and planet whirlingon the cosmographic page. Praise the Poet, summoning the earth to green abundance,summoning the seas to swarm with…

May 24, 2026 Acts 2:1-21John 20:19-23 I don’t know what it was that he found in the tree. Maybe it was a collection of seeds. Maybe it was some burrowing insects. Maybe it was material for a nest. Whatever it was, he was the only house finch to know about it, and as far as he knew (or I know) the only bird in the neighborhood to know anything about it. “Wow!” he said to himself, but not very…