A Sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 7), Year B 1 Samuel 17:1-49; Psalm 9:9-20; Mark 4:35-41 “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” Nearly 200 years ago, in 1816, a group of worshipers at the … Continue reading Do You not Care that We are Perishing?
Trinity Sunday, Year B Isaiah 6:1-8; John 3:1-17 Today is Trinity Sunday. Today is the day, always the Sunday after the Day of Pentecost, when we celebrate the ancient Christian doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Now, if you ask your … Continue reading Shall We Dance?
Day of Pentecost, Year B Acts 2:1-11; I Corinthians 12:4-13; John 14:8-17 Have you ever had the experience when you were visiting a foreign country where English is not the primary language? I speak enough German to be dangerous, as the saying goes. One time, some seminary classmates and I flew to Germany for a week, this was pre-9/11 and airfares were pretty cheap. Being seminarians, we decided to travel as cheaply as possible once there. I ensured my friends that I could safely translate our way during the visit. At the airport in Frankfurt, we debated if we should … Continue reading Peace in Every Tongue
A sermon for the Fourth Sunday after Easter, Year B I Peter 2:19-25; Psalm 23; John 10:1-10 She turned the letter over in her hands, once, twice. Finally she steeled her nerve and ripped open the envelope. In it she found a brief note from a friend, and in that note the news she had been waiting so long to hear. Her father was dead. In her cell in Ravensbruck concentration camp, Corrie ten Boom scratched a note on the wall, “Father released.” The ten Boom family had been a model Christian family in Haarlem, the Netherlands. Caspar ten Boom, Corrie’s … Continue reading The Sacrificial Shepherd
A sermon for the Third Sunday after Easter, Year B Luke 24:13-35 Be known to us, Lord Jesus, in the breaking of the bread. Familiar words, no doubt. This morning we are privileged to hear the story behind them. This … Continue reading Bread for the Journey
A sermon for the Fourth Sunday of Lent, Year B Numbers 21:4-9; John 3:14-21 Some weeks when I sit down to prepare a sermon, I read the appointed passages and sigh, finding little or no inspiration. This is especially true when the text is among the most familiar passage of all of scripture. What more can be said about John 3:16? Have courage, Scott! Is there anything new that can be said about these passages? One thing that captured my imagination most this week was this remarkable story from Numbers. Now, Numbers is a curious book. The fourth book of … Continue reading Of Serpents and Crosses
A Sermon for the Eve of the Nativity of our Lord, Year B Luke 2:1-14 This time of year is a good one for those of us who still listen to local radio stations. Certainly I enjoy listening to the … Continue reading Peace in an Unexpected Place
A sermon for the seventh Sunday after the Epiphany, Year A Lev. 19:1-2, 9-18; Matt. 5:38-48 “This child shall be for the rising and falling of many.” “Kings shall bow down and worship him.” “One is coming who is greater than I.” These prophecies, spoken of a baby, tell us what that baby’s life would be like, once he would come of age. Throughout this season of Epiphany, we have heard some familiar stories – of gentile kings bringing this child gold, frankincense, and myrrh; of his being baptized by John in the wilderness; of his miracles and his teachings. … Continue reading Love that Turns Tables
A sermon for the Second Sunday after Christmas Day, Year A Matthew 2:13-15, 19-23 During the twelve days of Christmas, the church around the world, the liturgical church at least, commemorates a day that often goes overlooked in the calendar … Continue reading Of Kings and Refugees
A sermon for the Feast of All the Saints “I believe in the communion of saints…” These seven words, part of the Apostles Creed, are said every time we baptize or confirm someone in the Episcopal Church. It comes at the end of that creed, in that last grouping of “I believe” phrases – I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body and the life everlasting. But beyond the occasional times we say them together, do these words resonate in our regular experience of worship? … Continue reading Saints Among Us
