We have a very familiar story today in the Gospel of Mark. It is the story of Jesus riding victoriously into Jerusalem; people spread their cloaks on the street, they lay palm branches on the ground, and wave them over their heads. They cry out: “Hosanna in the highest! Blessed is the one that comes
Sewing Community Together by Faith
Confrontng Evil When it Lives in the Light
I’ve finished a book recently called The Book Thief by Markus Zusak. It’s a story of a young girl whose brother dies and mother abandons her into foster care. It takes place in Germany during WWII. The town she lands in is Molching, with a family living on the wrong side of the tracks, barely
The Bigger the Hair, the Closer to Jesus
Good Morning Christians, Seekers, and Friends! Good mornin’ and Howdy! Are you prepared for our big fast on the 29, 30th an 31st of February? Ha ha! Sorry, feeling a little extra joyful today as I’ve been thinking a lot about last week’s Have a Heart and what a wonderful night we had with you—even
Lent as a Season of Consideration
Today is the last Sunday before Lent, and as we enter Lent, I want to encourage you to try the spiritual exercise of consideration. It is probably not a spiritual exercise you are familiar with. I actually sort of made it up, but it seems to fit this time of COVID-19. Consideration. Before we explore
Fishing with Pelagius and Augustine for a Trinitarian God
Today I want to preach about the state of our nation, and while the January 20 inauguration was honorable and majestic, as it should be, I am still troubled by what happened at the US Capitol building on January 6. The memory of signs and symbols asserting that it was a Christian sanctioned movement: a
Forthtellers of the Gospel
Good morning Christians, seekers, and friends: How are you doing? Where do you land on a scale from one to five? I know we were all looking forward to this New Year and the vaccine that it promised and promises us but so far, as a parishioner recently wrote me, this new year hasn’t necessarily
Where the Wild Things Are
Good morning Christians, seekers, and friends: Welcome. It is well that you have come. And we are made better, more whole, with you here as a unique and important part of the body of Christ. Now the phrases above are a little like a definition of or even a little of the etymology of the
Seeing Yourself Being Seen; Gratitude Unveiled
I was at a Commission on Ministry retreat last week, and there I heard a most interesting sermon from Karen Haig, Rector at St. Barnabas Church, on this text, and her words and bell ringing have formed this sermon in my mind. She said: “This is not a Gospel message about gratitude, primarily, but more
God Will Be God
It has been quite an exciting few days (if you want to call it that). For some of us there is hope, for some of us there is consternation. Indeed, we all have a different view of what the future will hold going forward, even if we claim to be part of the same political
