May 29, 2025 - The Feast of the Ascension

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.

The Anglican bishop and theologian NT Wright has written that if we downplay the Ascension, the Church will end up filling the vacuum. And he does not mean this as a good thing. The Collect for the Ascension proclaims that Jesus “ascended far above all heavens that he might fill all thing,” and so if we neglect this feast of the Church, we will end up looking to ourselves to fill all things.

May 18, 2025 - The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Jesus. Amen.

Let’s say that I’ve booked a table for you tonight at your favorite restaurant – doesn’t matter where, I’ve taken care of the reservation, flight, and hotel. So if you want to go to Rome, Paris, New York, wherever, we’re ready for you. I’ll even pick up the bill for dinner. The catch is that I get to choose who you have dinner with. And who is it that would make you say, “Thanks, but no thanks. Not worth it”? Maybe a former boss that you can’t stand, someone you used to be married to, the kid who bullies you in school, a political figure who repulses you? 

May 11, 2025 - The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Jesus. Amen.

Who is Jesus to you? I was in a meeting recently and that’s a question that came up. It’s such a foundational question, but one that is easy to overlook given how often we refer to Jesus – he’s in our parish identity statement, the hymns we sing, the art we are surrounded by, and at the end of all of our prayers in the phrase “through Jesus Christ our Lord.” But who is Jesus to us? What is the operative image of Jesus that comes to mind if I ask you to close your eyes and think about the question: “who is Jesus to you?”

May 4, 2025 - The Third Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.

I opened my Easter Sunday sermon by saying “Easter comes just in the nick of time.” Given the challenges of life, we can all use an extra dose of joy and hope, which Easter delivers right when we need it. But then like a child who had too much sugar on Easter morning, the crash soon follows. As grand as Easter was, the lilies have all dropped their flowers, the trumpets are sitting in their cases, and eggs have all been found or forgotten. Easter might come in the nick of time, but it sure doesn’t seem to stick around as long as we might like.