November 18, 2018 - Proper 28B

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the living and Triune God ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Jesus warns his followers that things are falling apart. The magnificently large stones of the temple will be toppled. False teachers will come along and lead us astray. There will be wars and rumors of war. There will be conflict, there will be environmental disasters, there will be famines. In short, terrible times are ahead. The institutions that we count on will fail, human sin will run amok, and the earth itself will reveal the brokenness of human sin. Jesus warned us.

November 4, 2018 - Proper 26B

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God – who was, and is, and is to come. Amen.

            “Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength. And you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.” What a world this would be if our actions were more aligned with those words. The reason why I preach about love so much is that the Beatles were right, “love is all you need.” Being rooted in the knowledge that God loves us, if we respond to that love with our whole being then we’d see more what we pray for each week – thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. But because of Sin, we aren’t the best at remembering that we are loved or showing love to others. And so love must remain at the center of the Church’s preaching. Once we get love right, then I’m happy to entertain a discussion about what the next priority ought to be. But until then, love remains at the center.

November 2, 2018 - All Souls

O eternal Lord God, who holdest all souls in life: Give, we beseech thee, to thy whole Church in paradise and on earth thy light and thy peace; and grant that we, following the good examples of those who have served thee here and are now at rest, may at the last enter with them into thine unending joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

November 1, 2018 - All Saints

Lectionary Readings

O Almighty God, who by thy Holy Spirit hast made us one with thy saints in heaven and on earth: Grant that in our earthly pilgrimage we may ever be supported by this fellowship of love and prayer, and may know ourselves to be surrounded by their witness to thy power and mercy. We ask this for the sake of Jesus Christ, in whom all our intercessions are acceptable through the Spirit, and who liveth and reigneth for ever and ever. Amen.

            That Collect is one of the treasures of our Book of Common Prayer. It’s not often used, as it is the third option of the generic commons for a saint. Though it may not be one of the most often used prayers in our tradition, it is a splendid one to consider on the Feast of All Saints. This Feast of the Church is rooted in Baptism; in the fact that we are brought into the Body of Christ which transcends space and time. And as we can see in this prayer, which is found on page 7 of your bulletin, being the Baptized people of God sanctifies us, connects us, and gives us witnesses.

October 28, 2018 - Proper 25B

Lectionary Readings

Be with us, O Lord, for if you are with us nothing else matters, and if you are not with us, nothing else matters. Amen.

            “Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know.” Those words of Job express so much about the human condition and both the blessings and the challenges of saying anything about God. This morning, I want to say four things about the grandeur of God, but first I will give a very short summary of the Book of Job to make sure that we’re all up to speed on how we got to this, the final chapter in Job.

October 21, 2018 - Proper 24B & Feast of St. Luke

Lectionary Gospel Text (Feast of St. Luke Readings)

In the name of the loving, liberating, and life-giving Trinity. Amen.

            What difference does it make that you are a follower of Jesus? I’m sure you all know people who aren’t people of faith and yet they live lives similar to yours – they are nice people, they give to charity, and they’d be there to help you in a time of need. Certainly, we’re here this morning and they’re not, so that’s a difference. But the way they might view our religious practices is that it’s a nice hobby for us. It gives us a sense of purpose and meaning, and they might find that same sort of thing when they walk in nature, or practice yoga, or listen to music. When it comes down to it, what is the difference between a devout Christian and a compassionate atheist?

October 7, 2018 - Proper 22B

Lectionary Readings

Come, thou fount of every blessing, and tune our hearts to sing thy Grace. Amen.

            Jesus, why in the world do you always have to do this? It’s a lovely morning and we’ve come together with our church family to praise you and you have to say something like “Whoever divorces their spouse and marries another commits adultery.” Jesus, don’t you know that’s not the sort of thing that we say in church? And what am I supposed to do as the preacher, just pretend that you didn’t just say that? Well, Lord, I’m just thankful that the people that you’ve given to me to care for have open minds and are committed to this parish. If we’re going to have to struggle with these words, at least we can do it together.