June 26, 2022 - Proper 8C

Lectionary Readings

Gracious and loving God, guide us to seek your Truth: come whence it may, cost what it will, lead where it might. Amen.

            This sermon begins with a disclaimer about what I ask of you, as a listener. I do so because this sermon will address the topic of abortion. As a note, I wrote and planned this sermon before the Supreme Court's decision on Friday. I would have preferred the decision to come out this upcoming week so that this sermon could be heard more reflectively and not reactively with tensions high, but I'll play the hand we've been dealt. For one, I ask that you trust me. I hope that you know that I love you and my only priority is pointing to the love of God. I ask that you would listen, and re-listen if necessary, to this sermon. Then reflect on it. Then examine your reactions. And then, finally, to respond after listening for the Spirit. This sermon will be a bit longer than normal, not that I can cover everything, but this is an important enough conversation to not have an artificial time limit imposed on it.

June 19, 2022 - Proper 7C

Lectionary Readings

Preached at All Saints Episcopal Mission in Linville, NC

In the name of the God who is one ☩ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            What are the things that matter most? I’m sure we could all come up with responses, and because we’re all in the same culture, our answers would likely be fairly similar: family, church, community, vocational goals, hobbies, serving the least of these. None of these, of course, are bad things. But finding someone who has found the balance in actually prioritizing all of those things would be quite the find. And I don’t know about you all, but I’m exhausted by all of the things that are constantly in front of us. Because of technology, we know far more about the world than we are able to handle. Within a span of just a few minutes on a phone, I can see that we’re in a bear market and quite possibly heading for a recession, I can see reports of the latest carnage in Ukraine, I can read about partisan gridlock in Congress, I can look at charts showing that our nation is still averaging 100,000 new daily COVID cases, I can hear forecasts about violent hurricane season fueled by the climate catastrophe that is upon us and all of that is without thinking about all the people I know who are dealing with cancer, addiction, or depression. Between all that we want to do and care about, it’s exhausting just thinking about it.

June 12, 2022 - The Feast of the Holy Trinity

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Holy Trinity, one God ✠ Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Today is the Feast of the Holy Trinity, which might come as a surprise to you as this holy day doesn’t have a section in the greeting card aisle and there are no mattress sales associated with it. You might wonder why we have these church holidays that seem a bit obscure and detached from reality. To put it simply, we keep these feasts because this is who we are.

June 5, 2022 - The Feast of Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Come, Holy Ghost, and comfort us with thy abiding presence. Amen.

            “Hear what comfortable words our Savior Christ saith unto all who turn to him: Come unto me, all ye that travail and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you. God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, to the end that all that believe in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. This is a true saying, and worthy of all men to be received, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and he is the perfect offering for our sins, and not for ours only, but for the sins of the whole world.”