December 26, 2021 - The First Sunday after Christmas

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, thank you so much for the gift of your Son through whom we see just how much you love us ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            We’ve all heard that phrase “lost in translation.” If you’ve ever studied another language, you know how difficult it can be to translate an idea from one language to another. In English, we say “she burned the midnight oil” whereas in Spanish you’d say, “se quemó las cejas.” That Spanish phrase though is not a direct translation using the word for oil; rather it means “she burned her eyebrows.” Now, both phrases mean that someone stayed up late at night – one suggesting that you’d need extra oil in the lamp and the other suggesting that maybe she got a bit too close to the flame while reading or writing late at night. But neither of these phrases is actually about staying up late in any literal sense, you have to teach someone what the idiom means.

December 25, 2021 - Christmas Day

Lectionary Readings

Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            In his lifetime, he was the most powerful man in the world, his name is one that changed the course of history, and Luke puts him at the center of the story that we heard this morning. His name was Gaius Octavius and he was born in 63 BC as the nephew of Julius Caesar. Octavius was adopted by Julius and became his son. So when Julius was assassinated on the Ides of March in 44 BC, the 19-year-old Octavius set his sights on that now vacant seat of power. Through a bloody campaign, Octavius consolidated all of the power in himself and became the first Roman Emperor. When he came into this power, he took the name Caesar Augustus, which means “great,” and he ruled until his death in 14 AD. Even 2,000 years later, he is remembered as one of history’s most influential and powerful rulers.

December 24, 2021 - Christmas Eve

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, you have brought all things together in your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord; help us to grow in him and he in us ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            The great American novelist Flannery O’Conner was a woman of devout faith. In a conversation once, someone suggested to her that it is best to interpret the Holy Eucharist as a symbol, to which she is reported to have replied, “If it’s only a symbol, to hell with it.” That sort of thinking is indicative of how we have been taught to understand, or really, misunderstand symbols. We think of symbols as something like a substitute – instead of writing out “prescription” we write “Rx.” Or instead of writing “Women” on the bathroom door, we put a stick figure wearing a skirt. Or instead of spelling out the company name, we use a logo to symbolize the company. With this understanding of a symbol, we get where O’Conner is coming from – symbols, if they are simply a substitute or stand-in, are worthless. “Just give us the real thing instead of some empty symbol,” we say.

December 19, 2021 - The Fourth Sunday of Advent

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            What would it take to get you up on your feet and dancing in the aisle? What news could fill you with such joy that you couldn’t contain yourself? Maybe news that there are no new Coronavirus cases and that the pandemic is over? Perhaps learning that your loans have all been forgiven, that you’ve been accepted into your dream school on a full scholarship, that the last scan shows no signs of cancer, that the family member that you haven’t spoken to in a decade wants to find reconciliation, that your favorite team has won the championship?

December 12, 2021 - The Third Sunday of Advent

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            “What should we do?” That’s the question that Christians continually wrestle with. God the Father is the Creator of heaven and earth, and what should we do? Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, and what should we do? The Holy Spirit dwells within each of us, and what should we do? Embedded within this question is the assumption that faith is more than a set of ideas or a side to be on, rather faith has implications for our lives. The Churchy way of saying this is that faith is incarnational – meaning that faith is about physical things, that faith is embodied, that faith is observable. And so we always have that question– what should we do?

December 5, 2021 - The Second Sunday of Advent

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            As the old saying goes, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Whether it’s our health, home maintenance, or school work, that’s pretty good wisdom. Even if you are last minute, fly by the seat of your pants sorts of person, we all know that there are some situations in which it’s simply too late for preparations, like going to the store to buy a fire extinguisher after the fire has started. As I said last Sunday, the Collects for Advent are splendid prayers to guide us through this season and today’s is no exception: Merciful God, who sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance and prepare the way for our salvation: Give us grace to heed their warnings and forsake our sins, that we may greet with joy the coming of Jesus Christ our Redeemer; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

November 28, 2021 - The First Sunday of Advent

Lectionary Readings

O come, O come, Emmanuel. Amen.

            Advent begins in the dark. So writes one of the greatest preachers of our times, the Rev. Fleming Rutledge. As the Church begins a new liturgical year on the first Sunday of Advent, we can’t help but notice the precariousness of the world in which we live – a climate crisis that will cause untold suffering, a pandemic that is going on two years and showing signs of a fifth wave of infections and hospitalizations, and political and social divisions that seems to threaten the very fabric of our society. Not to mention all of the personal darknesses that we all face – depression, grief, addiction, struggling children, aging parents, difficult work situations. To be sure, there are plenty of good things that we could point to, but whether we want to call it pessimism or realism, it does seem like things have gone off the rails.

November 25, 2021 - Thanksgiving Day

Lectionary Readings

All things come of thee, O Lord; and of thine own have we given thee ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            It is good to be with you all this morning. I truly mean that – it is good to be here in this moment. I don’t mean this is any judgment at all towards those who are not here, but there is something meet and right about coming to church on a holiday called “thanksgiving” to give thanks to God who created, blesses, nourishes, and keeps us. Yes, I like the parades and stuffing as much as anyone, but Thanksgiving without singing hymns of thanksgiving and receiving not just a yeast roll, but the very body of Christ is what makes Thanksgiving not just a secular holiday, but also a holy day for us as people of faith.

November 21, 2021 - Christ the King

Lectionary Readings

O Christ our King, guide us to seek your Truth: come whence it may, cost what it will, lead where it might ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Have you ever had a conversation with someone in which, after a few minutes, you realize that you are talking about completely different things? Well, that’s exactly what we are witnessing in this conversation between Pontus Pilate and Jesus Christ. The setting is the middle of Jesus’ Passion on the morning of Good Friday. Jesus has been charged with a capital offense and has to go before the Roman authority to have his case decided. What we heard read from John is the interrogation scene – Pilate trying to ascertain whether or not Jesus is guilty of sedition, of claiming that he is a King in opposition to the Roman Emperor. Jesus though has no interest in claiming earthly kingship, as he is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But where Pilate and Jesus are two ships passing in the night is that for Pilate, kingship is about power and for Jesus, it is about Truth.

November 14, 2021 - The 25th Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious God, we thank you for speaking to us so that we might know of your abundant love for us; help us to listen to your word ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            This week’s Collect is truly one of the gems of our Book of Common Prayer. “Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

November 2, 2021 - All Souls

 O Lord Jesus Christ, who by thy death didst take away the sting of death: Grant unto us thy servants so to follow in faith where thou hast led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in thee, and awake up after thy likeness; for thy tender mercies’ sake. Amen.

            There’s a marked difference between All Saints and All Souls. Last night, we had a festive high mass in which we celebrated the Church Triumphant and gloried in the legacy of the saints. Tonight has a much more somber and tender to it. To be sure, on both All Saints and All Souls we proclaim the Resurrection and thank God for those who have gone before us in faith. It’s just that most of us don’t have a deeply emotional connection to Anselm or Hilda. Yes, their lives might serve as an inspiration in our own, but I don’t know that many people grieve their deaths. All Souls is different because we are reminded of our grief tonight.

November 1, 2021 - All Saints

 For the fellowship of the saints and for the light of Christ that shined in their lives, we give you thanks, O God ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

One of the things that I most enjoy about the Principal Feasts of the Church year, is that these holy days draw our attention to the things in our faith that matter most. In tonight’s reading from Revelation, we heard the one who is seated on the throne say, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” What could be more important than that? The beginning, the source, the origin of all things all the way to the conclusion, the consummation, and the fulfillment of all things; from potential to actualization; from uncertainty to finality.

October 31, 2021 - The 23rd Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

O Lord, grant us to know your abundant love for us that we might respond by loving you with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and our neighbors as ourselves ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            The English novelist E.M. Foster is oft-quoted for his line, “Only connect.” In one novel he writes, “Only connect the prose and the passion, and both will be exalted, and human love will be seen at its height. Live in fragments no longer.” In Ephesians, St. Paul writes that “Christ is the plan for the fullness of time, the means by which God will gather all things up” and in Colossians, he puts it this way, “Christ is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” All of these are different ways of speaking of integration, of saying that everything belongs, of pointing to the reality that all things are connected because we are the Body of Christ.

October 24, 2021 - The 22nd Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

O Lord, there are so many things that make us blind to your love, grant us to see your abundant and amazing grace ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Over the past two Sundays, we’ve been in the midst of a sermon series on stewardship, considering both the why and the where of giving. We’ve seen just how powerful money can be and the simple truth is that either we have some control over our money and give it away, or we serve money as a slave. In giving to places like St. Luke’s, we put our treasures here in the hopes that our hearts will follow as we grow in the difference that Christ makes. Today, I want us to consider the how of giving.

October 17, 2021 - The Feast of St. Luke

Lectionary Readings

Gracious God, we give thee thanks for this wonderful parish, for its people, its legacy, and its future; and we pray that we might be worthy of the name of our patron, Luke, who proclaimed the healing power of Jesus ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            There’s a hymn written by an African-American hymn composer that opens with “There’s a sweet, sweet Spirit in this place, and I know that it’s the Spirit of the Lord.” Indeed, as Sherlock Holmes might say, “something is afoot,” and it’s the movement of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in this special place we call “St. Luke’s.”

October 10, 2021 - The Twentieth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Lord Jesus Christ, you have told us that with God, all things are possible; grant us your Holy Spirit that we might do the seemingly impossible and live by your economy of grace ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Starting today, we are officially in our stewardship campaign to support our 2022 budget and the sermons for the rest of the month are going to engage with the Scripture readings by asking the basic questions of the what, how, why, and where of giving.

September 26, 2021 - The Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

O God, we give you thanks for salting us with your grace and pray that might always have peace with you ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            I pray that this sermon series on “What is the Church?” has been fruitful. The idea was that as we were emerging out of the pandemic and trying to re-establish some sense of normal, we needed to get back to the basics to build on a solid foundation. So we’ve considered questions about the purpose of the Church, why we should come to Church, and what words like discipleship and faith are all about. Which leaves us with one last question – what should we even be Christian?

September 19, 2021 - The Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

O Lord, we are your children, give us the faith to receive your grace and love fully in our lives ✠ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Thus far in this sermon series about the Church, we’ve seen that the Church is a Eucharistic community – meaning that all we are and do is rooted in the way in which God brings us together, nourishes us in grace, places before us the story of our salvation, and summons us to follow Jesus in the way of the Cross. Now, that’s a very short summary, and so if you’ve missed any of the sermons so far, I’d encourage you either read or listen to them online. Today, the question is “what is faith?”

September 12, 2021 - The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Truly, it is good to be back with you all this morning. Even a great whale, which can swim for long periods of times in the depths, needs to come up for air periodically. That’s what I did last Sunday and the week prior – I spent some time where I didn’t check emails or worry about projects so that I could more fully rest and be present in prayer and breathe in God’s grace. Certainly, it’s not only clergy who have been exhausted by this pandemic – we all have. So make sure you’re taking time to come up for air as well.

August 29, 2021 - The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

O God, of your grace you have brought us into the new creation of your love, keep us secure in this grace for ever ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            We’re continuing our sermon series on the question “what is the Church?” As we’re trying to come out of this pandemic and reestablish habits of faith, it’s important to remind ourselves of the foundation on which we stand. So in the previous two sermons, I said that the purpose of the Church is to celebrate the Eucharist because it both immerses us into the story of faith and also because it shapes us into being a people who “see Communion in everything,” as my college chaplain used to put it. Last Sunday, we saw that the reasons for coming to Church are that we are fed in the grace of God, we are given armor to stand firm against the trials of life, we are taught and corrected in the ways of faith, and we abide with one another in Christ.

August 22, 2021 - The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Lord Jesus, you have told us that those who eat your flesh and drink your blood abide in you; grant us the grace to always abide in your love ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Last week, we began a sermon series focused on the question “What is the Church?” Though it’s taking far longer than is necessary, we’re trying to come out of this pandemic and look forward to when we can all gather without worrying about exposures. The last 18 months have been incredibly disruptive in the life of the Church and for many Christians. For months, the building was physically closed, and patterns and habits were disrupted. As we’re seeking to rebuild those holy habits of faith, we have to get back to the foundations, which is the purpose of this sermon series.

August 15, 2021 - The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Jesus, you are the bread of life and we ask that you would give us this bread always ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            What is Church all about? Really, when it comes down to it, why do we invest so much time, energy, and money into the Church? This is a question that many people have asked, and finding insufficient answers, describe themselves as being “spiritual but not religious.” And given the past 18 months when we had to close the physical church due to the pandemic, as we’ve reopened, it’s become clear that having an answer to the question “what is the Church” is necessary.

August 8, 2021 - The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, may only your Truth be spoken and only your Truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            I bet that right now, you can think of certain smells and immediately be transported somewhere else. More than any other sense, smell can take over our brain and conjure up memories and associations. Just a whiff of perfume or cologne can remind us of grandparents who died decades ago. For me, the smell of diesel fuel takes me to the Dominican Republic and certain foods are almost like a time machine that bring me to previous meals. I’m sure you all have some of those smell-based associations.

August 1, 2021 - The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

Gracious and loving God, may only your Truth be spoken and only your Truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

What is Christianity? Certainly,  that's a big question and one that I will not  be able to fully answer in  this sermon. But that question really is an  important one, as another way of asking the same thing is to ask "What is this all about? Why are we gathered here? Why do we invest time, money, and energy into the Church? So what is Christianity?

July 25, 2021 - The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, may only your Truth be spoken and only your Truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            When we need help, what do we usually do? Well, I suppose it depends on the kind of help that we need. But, generally, we turn to a friend or family member. Need help moving something? You call a friend with a truck and a strong back. Other times, we need an expert, and so we go to someone like a mechanic, surgeon, or seamstress to have them work on the issue in exchange for money. But still, some problems can’t be solved even by an expert, and so we look to elected officials and politicians to address issues like climate change, foreign trade agreements, or getting a road repaved. But there are still yet other issues that no political system or party can address – the question of how we overcome the divisions that are tearing apart our society, the angst we can feel about the meaning of our lives, the fear we have of our impending deaths, the guilt we carry for the mistakes we have made, the uncertainty we have in society and in the Church about how we emerge from this pandemic. Where do we turn to for help with those sorts of issues?

July 18, 2021 - The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, may only your Truth be spoken and only your Truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            A few weeks ago, in preaching on the subject of generosity and giving, I recounted the story of a pastor who, instead of saying “Praise God from whom all blessings flow” when the collection came forward, said, “God, this is what we think of you.” And while that may be true in some sense, the grace of God is that regardless of what we think of God, God shows us unrelenting grace, mercy, and love. Well, today the topic isn’t giving or money, but rather relationships and reconciliation. And that statement might also be a helpful one for this topic; when it comes to how we treat God’s children, that is, one another, we are saying something like “God, this is what we think of you.”

July 11, 2021 - The Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, may only your Truth be spoken and only your Truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Paying off the mortgage, making sure the kids can go to college without debt, giving to charity, and no longer driving a minivan – those are the first things I’d do if I won the lottery. I’m not sure that I’ve ever bought a lottery ticket in my life, and yet, when I see that billboard on 85 between exits 75 and 76 with the estimated winnings, I engage in “lottery fantasy.” And now that there’s a million-dollar lottery for getting a COVID vaccine, all of us who have done the right thing and had our vaccine are now enticed to think about how we’d spend that million.

July 4, 2021 - The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, may only your Truth be spoken and only your Truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so. Little ones to him belong, they are weak, but he is strong.” Many of us learned that song as children, but little did we know that it’s not some simple Sunday School song – it’s actually the sort of deep theological truth that St. Paul is writing about in the passage we heard from 2 Corinthians. Yes, “Jesus loves me” is an important message and you’ve heard me preach on that idea many times. Today, I want to focus on the other part of the song – “they are weak, but he is strong.”

June 27, 2021 - The Fifth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, may only your truth be spoken and only your truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            You all remember that, before the pandemic, back when we were passing the offertory plate, when it was brought to the altar as a symbol of our thanksgiving, we would either say “All things come of thee, O Lord; and of thine own have we given thee” or sing “Praise God from whom all blessings flow…” Both are fitting words to accompany this liturgical action. I recently heard of a minister though who said something different; something, a bit more truthful and provocative. When the offering would reach the front of the assembly, the offering plates would be raised with the minister saying, “God, this is what we think of you.”

June 20, 2021 - The Fourth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Preached at All Saints' Episcopal Mission, Linville, North Carolina

Gracious and loving God, may only your truth be spoken and only your truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            My guess is that if you had a time machine and could talk to people of different eras, most would say that they lived through unsettling times. The first followers of Jesus dealt with proclaiming a crucified and Risen Messiah. Subsequent generations dealt with persecutions. Throughout history, there have been warring tribes and foreign invaders to disrupt lives. There have been uprisings, famines, and plagues. Going from the colonies to a new nation must have been a disruptive time. The introduction of the train, then the automobile, then the aircraft had a disorienting effect on society. In our own lifetime, the rise of the internet and computers that fit into our pockets has redefined normalcy.

June 13, 2021 - The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Gracious God, may only your truth be spoken and only your truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Have you ever had an experience that caused you to see things differently? The question reminds me of a 10-minute short film called “The Lunch Date,” in which a woman is hurrying through a train station and misses her departure. So she goes to get lunch at a restaurant in the station. She gets a salad, puts it down on the table, and then walks back to the counter to get a napkin and silverware. When she gets back to the table, she finds a man sitting there, eating her salad. She rants and complains, but to no avail. So she takes her fork and starts eating the salad as well. After a few minutes, the man goes up to the counter and comes back with two coffees – one for him and one for her. Well, she drinks the coffee and then gets up and leaves to head back to the train platform to catch the next train, but realizes that she left her bag at the restaurant. She goes back only to find her bag sitting at a table different from the one she had been eating at and on the table sits her uneaten salad. She thought this man had sat at her table and eaten her salad, when, in reality, she had sat at his table and eaten his salad. She laughs to herself in a moment of embarrassment, surprise, and epiphany. Again, it’s called “The Lunch Date” and is a poignant 10-minute film that explores what happens when we act on faulty assumptions and the grace that can come through seeing things differently. The Scripture texts this morning from 1 Samuel and 2 Corinthians help us to see things differently.

June 6, 2021 - The Second Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

O Lord, you are the Way, the Truth, and the Life; may only your truth be spoken and only your truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Before diving into the Biblical texts this week, a larger question has to be asked about how we read Scripture. On the Sundays after Trinity Sunday, the lectionary readings start to be more chronological than thematic. In Lent and Easter, there was a fairly easy-to-spot thread that connected the readings thematically, but for the next several months we will be reading Biblical books in course. The Old Testament readings will take us through the narrative of King David and then into wisdom literature in the fall. Our Epistle readings will take us through 2 Corinthians, Ephesians, James, and Hebrews. And other than a five-week excursus into John in August, the Gospel texts will be coming from Mark.

May, 30, 2021 - The Feast of the Holy Trinity

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the holy and glorious Trinity ☩ Father, Son, and Hoy Spirit. Amen.

            Have you ever felt overwhelmed? What a ridiculous question. We’re emerging out of a 15-month global pandemic that disrupted every aspect of our lives. If any of had no prior experience of feeling overwhelmed, this pandemic has certainly changed that. But even without something as disruptive as a pandemic, life is overwhelming. Raising children, caring for aging parents, finding our identity as we enter adulthood, deciding which college to attend, receiving a medical diagnosis, dealing with conflicts, battling an addiction, struggling with debt, getting through a stressful project at work, figuring out how to reopen a church in a way that doesn’t frustrate or alienate both those who are tired of masks and those who still think masks are essential for safety, or even just watching the news – we can be overwhelmed in so many ways that it can feel like we are drowning.

May 23, 2021 - The Feast of Pentecost

Lectionary Readings 

Come, Holy Ghost, our souls inspire and lighten us with thy celestial fire. Amen.

            Because of the Holy Spirit, everything is different. That is the point of this sermon: because of the Holy Spirit, everything is different. In addition to today being the Feast of Pentecost, today is also Youth Sunday at St. Luke’s in which we celebrate all our children and youth and recognize our graduates. And whether you are in the church or watching online, I’m going to invite you to participate in this sermon with some call and response.

May 13, 2021 - The Feast of the Ascension

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen and Ascended Lord. Amen.

            We tend to remember the firsts and the lasts. The first time we met a lover, the first time we flew on an airplane, the first time we felt God moving in our lives. Or the last time we saw a loved one before they died or the last time we went to work before retiring. Indeed, beginnings and endings are important, just ask any author or preacher about that.

May 2, 2021 - The Fifth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.

            As our former Diocesan Bishop and current Presiding Bishop Michael Curry has said, “If it’s not about love, then it’s not about God.” Amen to that. Now, I realize that it can sound trite, simplistic, naïve, and saccharine, but love really is the name of the game. It’s all about love. We heard it in the reading from 1 John – God is love. Not God is loving. Not that God is like love. Rather, God is love. Now, we’re not saying love is God; we’re not reducing God into love. But we are saying that God cannot be understood apart from love.

April 25, 2021 - The Fourth Sunday of Easter

Lectionary Readings 

In the name of our Risen Lord and Good Shepherd: Jesus Christ. Amen.

            “I am the good shepherd,” says Jesus. There are a lot of ways of understanding Jesus, but here, in his own words, Jesus tells us who he is. Because of the easy association of the Good Shepherd with Psalm 23 and the renowned shepherd-king of Israel, King David, along with the sacrificial elements of sheep, this Good Shepherd image is one of the most common and cherished in our faith. But, for the vast majority of us, the metaphor is a bit abstract and antiquated. When was the last time any of us saw a shepherd? I mean, sure, we can guess that a shepherd tends a flock of sheep – but what does that actually entail?

April 18, 2021 - The Third Sunday of Easter

Lectionary readings

In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.

            Many of us have likely had those moments where there is a clear before and after, where something happened and we knew that from that moment onward, life would never be the same. I once heard a smoker say that they saw a picture of what a smoker’s versus a non-smoker’s lung looked like that is was a turning point for them and they never touched another cigarette. In the work that I’m proud to be a part of with Racial Equity Rowan, I have experienced it myself and seen it in many others: they attend the two-day workshop and come away with a completely new way of understanding the concept of race in our society. It’s as if, in the vein of St. Paul, scales have fallen from their eyes. For many of us, the first time we saw our children, whether on an ultrasound screen or in the flesh in the delivery room, it was one of these trajectory-shifting and outlook-changing moments. What’s that expression? There are some things that once you have seen them, you can’t unsee them and some things that once you have known them, you cannot unknow.

April 4, 2021 - Easter Sunday

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.

            “‘Welcome, happy morning!’ age to age shall say,” as one of the great Easter hymns puts it. Welcome, happy morning, indeed. What a joy and blessing it is to be gathered together today to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus Christ and the dawning of the New Creation. We were not able to physically gather last year for Easter, and so this one is all the sweeter to see your lovely and holy faces. As the Psalmist says in Psalm 133, “How good and pleasant it is when the people of God gather in beloved community.” Indeed, it is wonderful to be gathered together, and all the more on this day of Easter when we shout, “Alleluia! Jesus Christ is risen today.”

April 4, 2021 - The Great Vigil of Easter

In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.

            “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore we have been buried with him by baptism into death, so that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.” How could we not know this? A splendid sunrise Vigil, a joyous Baptism, being able to be gather together when we weren’t able to last Easter and for most of the time since then, and the tremendous Gospel text from St. Mark in which it was announced by an angel that “Jesus has been raised!” Yes, the glory of the Resurrection is on full display this morning and I am exuberant to be sharing in this Easter celebration with each of you.

April 3, 2021 - Holy Saturday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            From the book of Job, we heard “For there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its shoots will not cease. Though its root grows old in the earth, and its stump dies in the ground, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth branches like a young plant. But mortals die, and are laid low; humans expire, and where are they? As waters fail from a lake, and a river wastes away and dries up, so mortals lie down and do not rise again; until the heavens are no more, they will not awake or be roused out of their sleep.”

April 2, 2021 - Good Friday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            On Good Friday, we are stunned observers. As we heard in the reading from Isaiah, “By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future?” It was not that long ago that we celebrated the birth of Jesus and since then we have seen the glory of God through his teachings, miracles, and healings. He has called disciples to follow him, he has raised the dead, pronounced God’s mercy, and fed the multitudes with just a few loaves. Who could have imagined what we just heard read in the Passion?

April 1, 2021 - Maundy Thursday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            “How is this night different from all other nights?” That is one of the questions that children ask during the Jewish Seder. As an aside, Jesus and his disciples did not celebrate the Seder as we know it, as the form in use today didn’t exist then. Secondly, Christians should not be celebrating a Seder, unless invited to one happening in a Jewish household. The notion of a “Christian Seder” is religious appropriation and leads Christians to erroneous conclusions about their own faith. And thirdly, the way John depicts it, the events we heard about happened on the night before the Passover so that’s not even what we heard about in the Gospel reading. That being said, that question which is a part of the ritual of the Seder is a helpful one for us on Maundy Thursday – how is this night different from all other nights?

March 31, 2021 - Holy Wednesday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Continuing to look at Holy Week through the lens of sacrifice, tonight I want to reflect upon why it is that we use the word “sacrifice” when it comes to the Crucifixion. Yes, it was a death, and we speak of the death of Jesus, but it was more than a death. Jesus’ was a particular kind of death – one that was shameful and painful. This pain and shame were borne for us and so looking upon the horrors of this sacrifice shows us something about the love that stands behind it.

March 30, 2021 - Holy Tuesday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Tonight, we continue to consider Holy Week through the lens of sacrifice and we do so focusing on the phrase from Jesus found in St. John’s gospel, “Very truly, I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.” I’m sure we all remember from our elementary school days how plants grow – a seed is planted, buried in soil, and then, usually within a few days, a green spout shoots up from the ground. This is basic botany, but Jesus uses it to make a deep theological point about sacrifice and new life.

March 29, 2021 - Holy Monday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Most of us are familiar with the liturgical text of the Agnus Dei: “O Lamb of God that takest away the sin of the world, have mercy upon us.” For the sermons of Holy Week, I will be reflecting on the idea that Jesus is the Lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. This is the language of sacrifice, and so I’ll be reflecting upon sacrifice throughout this week, and I encourage and invite you to join me in this holy meditation on the theme of sacrifice.

March 28, 2021 - Palm Sunday

Lectionary Readings

God of all things, grant us to follow in the way of your Son this week, that through his Death, we might receive the riches of your grace ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            If you knew that you had one week left to live, how would you begin that week? Jesus has been very clear with the disciples – he will go to Jerusalem and be killed. He knows how this week will end, which makes how he chooses to begin the week all the more interesting. He tells two of his disciples, “Hey, do something for me, go into that village over there and find a donkey that’s never been ridden, and bring it to me.” Probably not how I’d choose to begin my last week. And then Jesus adds, “And if anyone gives you any trouble about it, just tell them ‘The Lord needs it.’” In that explanation of “The Lord needs it” we have a lens through which to view not only Palm Sunday, not only Holy Week, but of our entire lives: the Lord has a purpose for this.

March 21, 2021 - The Fifth Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

Gracious God, grant us the gift of eternal life that comes from knowing you to be the only true God and in knowing Jesus Christ, our great high priest, whom you have sent to us. Amen.

            “We wish to see Jesus.” This is what some of the Greeks said when they came to Philip, one of Jesus’ disciples. They had likely heard of some of the signs that were pointing to the glory of Jesus and wanted to see him with their own eyes. Several pulpits across the world have that phrase engraved on the inside, as they are for the preacher to see – “We wish to see Jesus.” It’s a reminder to the preacher of what their task is. The sermon is not about saying things to build a fanbase, it is not the opportunity to weigh in with political or social commentary, it is not even to pursue other laudable motivations such as comforting, challenging, or teaching. No, the purpose of the sermon is to point to Jesus and let him do the challenging, comforting, or teaching. An effective sermon is not one that necessarily entertains or inspires, but rather a “good” sermon is one that allows us to see Jesus. You’ll have to forgive me when I get in the way of that – but that’s my goal, to show you Jesus.

March 14, 2021 - The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

O God, our help in ages past, our hope for years to come, be thou our guide while life shall last, and our eternal home ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

            Back in 2008, the 65-year-old Jim O’Neill went through what had to have been one of the scariest experiences we can imagine. There he was, at 5,000 feet in his Cessna flying from Scotland to a town just outside of London. He was an experienced pilot and all was going well on the relatively short flight. But about halfway through, something went wrong. No, it wasn’t engine failure or a problem with the instruments. The problem was Jim. He couldn’t see anything. Assuming that the bright sunlight had temporarily blinded him, he blinked his eyes a few times, fully expecting to again see the instrument panel when he opened his eyes. But nothing. Just darkness. Turns out that it wasn’t the sun that had blinded him, but a stroke had caused inflammation on his optic nerves to the point that he was blinded. So he feels around for the radio and sends out the call, “Mayday, mayday!”

March 7, 2021 - The Third Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

Ever-loving God, give us the grace to trust that in seeking first your Kingdom, all that we need will be given to us as well ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            The English scholar and Bishop NT Wright gives us a modern retelling of this episode from the second chapter of John that might give us a better sense of the scandal and shock of it all. Imagine that it’s the day of a really important test at school – maybe end-of-year testing or the SAT. Well, one particular student walks into the classroom and heads straight for the teacher’s desk and picks up the pile of exam booklets and begins ripping them apart and tossing them out the window. He then turns to the teacher and the principal who happened to be in the room for such an important test and says to them, “This whole thing is a disgrace and you ought to be ashamed of your behavior. This whole system is full of corruption!” Stunned, the principal says “And just who do you think you are to be telling us this?” The disruptive student says, “Look, you can fail me, expel me, it doesn’t matter. But I’m going to college and I’m going to study law and I’ll be back one day to put an end to corruption like this. Your system is done for.” Our student then slips out and marches on out of the school.

February 28, 2021 - The Second Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

O God, our hearts are restless until they rest in you; grant us your grace that we might follow you into the blessed rest of eternal life in your Kingdom. Amen.

            I’ll go ahead and say it upfront: this is a tough sermon. But don’t blame me for that. At best, I’m middle management. I’m just the messenger here. Jesus tells his disciples that he will suffer, be killed, and rise on the third day. Peter takes Jesus aside and rebukes him – “Uh, Lord, this isn’t really what I signed up for. Making Israel great again, yes, I’m on board. Having my best life now – that sounds fantastic. But being killed? And what’s this talk about rising again – people are going to think you’re crazy. Why don’t you let me lay out a good 5-year plan…” “Get behind me, Satan!” comes the reply. Well, that escalated quickly. And not one to mince his words, Jesus adds, “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.” That’s who I’m working for – so if you don’t like it, take it up with Jesus. But, I’ll warn you, he might tell you to get to the back of the line and compare you to the anti-Christ. Any sermon that doesn’t speak to the difficultly of these words doesn’t deserve to be called a sermon.

February 21, 2021 - The First Sunday in Lent

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, forgive the sins of the preacher, for they are many, that only your truth may be spoken and only your truth be heard ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Amen.

            What does it mean to be human? That is the opening question in the Catechism of the Prayer Book and it’s also a fitting question for us to consider on this First Sunday in Lent. And if you’re interested in going deeper into that question, I’ll plug the podcast that I started last May. It’s called Behold & Become, and you can find it wherever you listen to podcasts or on our website. The intention of the podcast is to provide a weekly 10-15 minute episode that explores various aspects of our faith. I know we can’t meet right now for Sunday school – so this is something that you can do while you do errands, chores, or exercise. Right now on the podcast, I’m doing a series with a Lenten focus – considering the different ways of understanding the salvation of the Cross. Earlier this year though, I did a series on the human nature section of the Catechism and I’m going to also be roughly following this part of the Catechism for sermons in Lent. And so we begin today with that question of “What are we by nature?”

February 17, 2021 - Ash Wednesday

Lectionary Readings

O Lord Jesus Christ, who by thy death didst take away the sting of death: Grant unto us thy servants so to follow in faith where thou hast led the way, that we may at length fall asleep peacefully in thee, and awake up after thy likeness; for thy tender mercies’ sake. Amen.

It’s been said that Ash Wednesday is the day Christians attend their own funeral. Indeed, Ash Wednesday is perhaps the most honest day in the Church year: “Remember that thou art dust, and unto dust shalt thou return.” As if we needed a reminder this year. Last year on Ash Wednesday, we gathered in the church unaware of what awaited us. We’re closing in on half a million deaths in our country due to this pandemic; and lest we not be able to process such a large number, when we are able to regather in this space, there will be people missing because they have returned to the dust. But this is nothing new. Death was not introduced with the Coronavirus, it just became something that confronted us more directly. And what better place to consider our mortality than in the shadow of the Cross?

February 14, 2021 - Quinquagesima

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Holy Trinity ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            There are a lot of things that are headline news. Sure, I could use this sermon to weigh in on the impeachment trial – not from a partisan perspective, of course – but I could speak about the importance of truth-telling and accountability. And it’s not just politics that grabs the headlines – there’s news about GameStop and the stock market, news about the start of baseball Spring Training coming up, news about celebrities getting into trouble, and news about how technology continues to reshape our world. But just because these pieces of information are put in capital letters across the top of a newspaper doesn’t make them important. And this is a trap that we moderns easily fall into – we confuse the loud for the important.

            But instead of focusing on what’s in the news, St. Mark gives us something more interesting, more pertinent, more challenging to consider this morning: The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ. Yes, if we take this narrative to be the most important piece of news that we hear this week, not only will we better be able to interpret all of that other so-called news, but we will be able to participate in this glory of God.

            Sometimes we are so familiar with the story of Jesus that we forget just how incredible this all is. In Mark’s description of the Transfiguration, he notes that St. Peter, a man who has seen Jesus walk on water, exorcise demons, raise a dead girl, and feed thousands of people with only five loaves and two fish, this very same Peter, when he witnesses this event that we call the Transfiguration, is terrified. When we all heard Deacon Bonnie read the passage from Mark, be honest, how many of us gasped or screamed? It’s more likely at this point that we took another sip of coffee. We share on social media or across the lawn about the weather, or celebrity gossip, or the latest hot-button issue – but when’s the last time we told anyone “Hey, did you hear about how the glory of God was seen in Jesus as he appeared with Moses and Elijah?”

            I spent part of this past week having a conversation with St. Mark about this text. I studied the words he wrote down, I consulted some commentaries to see what others have said about his words, I prayed with an icon of Transfiguration and St. Mark really wants us to know this truth about Jesus – that he’s God’s beloved Son and we ought to listen to him. That’s what St. Mark asked me to share with you all this morning, Jesus is the Son of God and that makes a claim on us.

            And this truth is what everything has been pointing towards and preparing for. But it’s not a truth that we were going to figure out on our own. No, this is what this season after the Epiphany is all about. We needed the magi to show us that Jesus is not only the King of the Jews, but he’s also the King of the Universe. We needed the story of Jesus’ Baptism to show us that Jesus has come as the heavens were torn open to declare that Jesus is not just a prophet, not just a teacher, not just a good example, but is the very Son of God. We needed stories about Jesus calling his disciples, casting out demons, and healing the sick to show us that, indeed, he has come to do as God promised to do back in Isaiah, to “bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and release to the prisoners; to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, and the day of vengeance of our God.” And this is what Mark gives us – a series of epiphanies about Jesus so that we’ll know just who it is that we are worshipping.

            This will become even more important in the days ahead. Today, on Quinquagesima, the Sunday before entering Lent, the setting is on a mountaintop, generally assumed to be Mount Tabor. On the other side of Lent, we’ll have another reading about the glory of God being manifest on another mount: Golgotha. Instead of Peter being there, it will be the faithful women; instead of being in glistening white clothing, Jesus will be stripped naked; instead of a voice saying “This is my Son,” there will be cries of “Crucify.” We would be tempted at that point to think that we’ve misinterpreted these epiphanies along the way. Certainly, Jesus can’t be the Messiah since he’s just been executed both as an enemy of the state and as a blasphemer. And so we need this epiphany of the Transfiguration all the more. We need to be told “listen to him.” And more than listening to Jesus once, we need to keep listening. Because as Jesus tells his disciples who were there that day, none of this will make sense until after the Resurrection, so don’t try explaining this to anyone before then.

            And the Resurrection did happen. And so those disciples told others. There is a tradition that St. Mark, who was not one of the twelve disciples, got his information from none other than St. Peter. So Peter tells Mark, and Mark tells anyone who will listen and writes it down. Through the ages, this good news has been shared. And this week Mark told me about it again, so I’m here to tell you about it. What you do with this really is between you and Holy Spirit. But this is not only good news, it’s compelling news, its life-changing news, its headline news if there ever has been any. And just what is this news?

            Well, for one, the Transfiguration reveals something to us about how God likes to act. God, it seems, has a proclivity for doing things sequentially. God, as the author of all that is, could have structured time differently. What those other options look like, I’m not sure that our brains can fathom, but certainly, things didn’t have to be this way. But God chooses to have things unfold. It wasn’t six days of Creation, a day of rest, and then the Messiah shows up. No, God lets decades, centuries, millennia, and eons pass by. There was Noah, and then many generations later, Abraham, then King David, then Mary gives birth to the Messiah, and here we are, some 2,000 years later.

And in this passage of time, important and emblmatic figures come along, people like Moses and Elijah who are pillars of the Jewish faith which Jesus embodies. Moses, the great but flawed liberator of the people was a leader and law-giver and Elijah was a prophet mighty in deed and action. These two are representative of the faith of Israel and their appearing with Jesus on that mountaintop clearly demonstrates that Jesus is the fulfillment, the perfection, the culmination, the embodiment of the Law and the Prophets. In other words, he’s not only a part of the tradition, he is the tradition.

Through our Baptism into the Body of Christ, we, too, are a part of this tradition. It is important to know who Jesus is because that tells us who we are. We stand in this stream of witnesses to the glory of God. And given that we live on this side of the Resurrection, we have been commissioned to tell people about this tradition in which we live, move, and have our being, and to invite them into this way of abundant life. On this Foundation Sunday, this is what we celebrate about our Foundation. People who have come before us in the faith left behind a monetary gift for us to use to further that very same faith that St. Mark tells us about this morning.

Though the last year has been a crazy one, it’s also been a transformative one for our Foundation. Caroline Stephenson has taken over as the Administrative Assistant and brought the Foundation up to date in terms of marketing and the grant application process. Applicants are now able to complete their applications online and Foundation trustees can easily review and score applications. Through the leadership of our President, George Simons, we’re now engaging more with the organizations we’ve made grants to. The Foundation is doing so much more than mailing checks, we are building relationships, we are seeing how the tradition of which we are part is manifest in other parts of our community and our world. St. Luke’s, both the Parish and the Foundation, are growing in our call to become the beloved community which stands in the tradition of the prophets, apostles, and all the faithful who have followed Jesus. So that’s the first bit of news – that God acts through tradition.

And the most important news we have this morning is that the Transfiguration reveals to us the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth about God. St. John Chrysostom says that on that mountaintop we caught a glimpse into the indwelling divinity of Jesus noting that at the Transfiguration Jesus did not receive something he previously did not have, nor was he changed into the something he was not already, rather it was given to us to see what he really is. And when this epiphany was given, first to Peter, James, and John, and then to Mark, and then to us, we are told “Listen to him.” Jesus is the whole truth about God, which is why it’s so important to spend time with Jesus.

And when we listen to Jesus, what sort of things will we hear? Well, we’ll hear the words of life. Words like “God so loved the world that he gave his only Son to the end that all who believe in him may have eternal life. Indeed, God did not send the Son to condemn the world but to save it.” We’ll hear things like “I am the bread of life” and “I am the good shepherd.” From the Cross, we’ll come to understand something about the truth of God when our Crucified Lord says “It is finished” and “Father, forgive them.” Jesus will empower us when he says things like “Receive the Holy Spirit” and “Go into all the world and make disciples.” Jesus will teach us when he says “It is more blessed to give than to receive,” “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and you shall love your neighbor as yourself,” and “Truly I tell you, just as you did it to the least of these, you did it unto me.” When we listen to Jesus he will tell us “Your sins are forgiven” and that “The Kingdom of God is among you.” He will assure with words like “This is my body, given for you,” “Remember, I am with you always, even unto the end of the ages,” and “All shall be well and all manner of things shall be well.”

Thanks be to God that we have several ways to listen to Jesus and receive this good news today. We have Scripture, we have the Eucharist, we have the poor, we have tradition, we have the Holy Spirit. The only news you need to know today is this: Jesus is the beloved Son of God, and so we ought to listen to him.