A sermon for the First Sunday Epiphany, The Baptism of Our Lord; Luke 3:15-17, 21-22 Humorist David Sedaris once wrote that it is rare when you are aware of doing something for the very last time. But here we are, my final sermon from this pulpit, at least in this context of life. It is meet and right that my final Sunday is during Epiphany, for it was during Epiphany almost exactly 10 years ago that I preached my very first sermon from this pulpit. Some of you were there! My subject that morning was Jonah. I had arrived. I guess … Continue reading Keep Spreading the Light

A sermon for the Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost Hebrews 10: 11-25; Mark 13:1-8 “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who has promised is faithful.” We are in the latter days of the season after Pentecost.  Advent will soon be upon us.  While the stores are already putting up Christmas decorations and the cooking channel is giving us tips on cooking the perfect bird for Thanksgiving, the readings of the church year pay no heed to all this premature business. Indeed, the readings toward the end of the lectionary cycle seem to take … Continue reading The High Priest who brings Hope

A sermon for the Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost James 3:13 – 4:3, 7-8a; Mark 9:30-37 It’s been another week of firsts. Thousands of people lined up to be the first to have an iPhone 5. Many of whom turned right around and immediately sold their new toy for a profit. The Emmy Awards are on tonight. Millions will tune in to see if their favorites will go home with glory. Sports fans gasped as underdogs defeated the favorites. Meanwhile, our very national consciousness has become obsessed with polls and predictions: who will come out on top? Are we obsessed with … Continue reading Having the ambition of a servant

A Sermon for the Sixth Sunday of Easter, Year B – Acts 10:44-48; 1 John 5:1-6; John 15:9-17 In this season after Easter, we hear many of the stories of Jesus after his resurrection, of his appearing to the disciples, of the earliest witnesses coming to terms with what Jesus’ death and resurrection meant to them and to the world.  But we also get to hear stories of this same group of people, fast-forwarded a few years into the days of the Early church.  We hear stories of Peter and Philip and the other disciples, now apostles, from this book, aptly … Continue reading Unexpected Brothers and Sisters

A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Easter, Year B – Acts 4:32-37; I John 3:1-8; Psalm 23; John 10:11-16 “The Lord is my shepherd.  I shall not want.”  These are perhaps the most familiar words in all of Scripture.  They are as old as King David, and even though very few of us have ever worked with flocks of sheep, we have no problem inhabiting this Psalm.  “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus proclaims in this passage from John’s Gospel, appropriating to himself the role and the imagery of David’s meditation. Today, the fourth Sunday of Easter, is traditionally known … Continue reading Wanted: A Good Shepherd

A Sermon for the Third Sunday of Easter, Year B – Luke 24:36b-48 Well, here we are again, back in a locked room with fearful disciples who are suddenly surprised to find a very risen Jesus standing before them. The Gospel reading today recounts one of the resurrection appearances of Jesus to his disciples, but this time from Luke’s account.  This may well be based on the very same encounter as the one from John that Thomas missed out on, but Thomas is not a focus of Luke’s story here.  In fact, it’s only in John’s account that Thomas is portrayed … Continue reading Jesus Eats, Teaches, Sends

Meanwhile, standing near the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.  When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, ‘Woman, here is your son.’  Then he said to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home. The image of Jesus on the cross is perhaps one of the most common religious images we have in western culture.  But many depictions of the crucifixion feature either the image of … Continue reading Good Friday

I walked into the Parish Hall yesterday, and I swear I could still smell pancakes!  Or maybe it was the sausage.  It was a faint smell, but still evocative.  It brought back memories of Tuesday night, when we gathered to mark the end of Epiphany with celebration.  There were celebrations in many parts of the world Tuesday night: Mardi Gras, Carnival.  They were enjoying more than just pancakes!  But come Wednesday morning, the crowds had all gone home to sleep it off. On Wednesday we gathered in a much more solemn atmosphere, kneeling.  We sought God’s forgiveness for the wrongs … Continue reading Images of God in the Shadows of Lent

Last evening a crowd gathered at Christ Church to commemorate the end of Epiphany with a huge party.  We ate pancakes and bacon and sausage (which was the hit of the evening).  A few folks talked about what they might give up for Lent.  Some were going to log-off Facebook for the 40 days of Lent.  Others talked about eating better, or living a more regimented lifestyle. Isn’t it interesting how we’ve turned a season like Lent into something very self-centered.  We have come to think of it as a second chance at our New Year’s resolutions.  “Now, I’ll definitely … Continue reading Lent Beyond Ourselves

This morning we have heard two stories, stories of faith, but also stories of restoration. There was perhaps no more dread disease in the Biblical world than that of leprosy.  There is much debate over whether this was what we have come to call “Hansen’s Disease” today.  Many scholars suggest the term may have simply been a catchall for many different kinds of skin diseases, such eczema and even fungal infections.  People didn’t go to the doctor to be diagnosed, they only knew there was something wrong.  Regardless of what is exactly being described here, a skin disease was not … Continue reading Restoring the Outcast with a Touch