July 3, 2016 - Proper 9C

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            A few months ago, in the height of strawberry season, Ellie and I went out to Patterson Farms to pick strawberries. It was drizzling the whole time we were there, but that didn’t stop us from going out into a field of seemingly endless strawberries. We picked a row and went to work on filling our basket with the reddest strawberries that we could find. When we arrived home, we enjoyed the succulent and sweet fruits of our labor.

May 5, 2016 - Ascension Day

Lectionary Readings

In the name of the Risen Lord. Amen.

            Ascension Day is an oft-forgotten day in the Church. I think it’s because the Ascension is a rather difficult event to grasp. For one, it’s essentially a day on which we celebrate being left behind. If your family and friends were waiting at the airport to board the plane on a fantastic vacation, and they boarded the plane while you were in the bathroom and left you behind, I don’t suppose that you’d want to celebrate the occasion. And, in a sense, that’s what Ascension Day is about – Jesus ascending to some sort of paradise where there is no pain or suffering, and we’d very much like accompany him there, but we’ve been left behind.

March 24, 2016 - Maundy Thursday

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Tonight we enter the Triduum, the three holiest days in our liturgical year. It’s not that other days aren’t holy, but Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter provide the essence of the entire Christian story. Love, sacrifice, and redemption are the themes of the Christian life and those are the themes of the Triduum.

March 13, 2016 - Lent 5C

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            Today’s Gospel text is like a masterpiece painting. It is full of symbols, and the more we look at it, the more we find. If you didn’t have time to understand the whole story of Jesus’ passion, these eight verses from John would give you the gist. If we had kept reading, the very next event recorded in John in the Palm Sunday procession, so this story about Jesus, Mary, and Judas is an overture to the story of Holy Week.

August 30, 2015 - Proper 17B

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            There was a father and son who had become estranged from each other. The cause of the estrangement really doesn’t matter, but the rift in the family was real. At the urging of wife and mother in this family, the father and the son begrudgingly agreed to go on a fishing trip to patch things up. They got in the car and spent the three hour drive in awkward silence. Eventually, they arrived at the river that they had grown up fishing in, but before they could even get the bait on their lines, the silence had been broken. The argument started over what sort of bait would be best to use, but at least they were talking to each other. Somehow, by the grace of God, one of them put their finger on the source of their estrangement, and their yelling turned into crying, which turned into a hug of reconciliation. They fished the rest of the day and didn’t catch a thing. When they got home, a neighbor asked them if they caught anything. They said “Nope.” And the neighbor said, “So the fishing trip was unfruitful.” This is a sermon about missing the point.

July 5, 2015 - Proper 9B

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            At the back of the Book of Common Prayer, there is a catechism that lists several questions and answers about the faith. One question is “What is the ministry of the laity?” The answer is “The ministry of lay persons is to represent Christ and his Church; to bear witness to him wherever they may be; and, according to the gifts given them, to carry on Christ’s work of reconciliation in the world; and to take their place in the life, worship, and governance of the Church.” If that sounds like a tall task, that’s because it is. Sometimes being a follower of Jesus can feel overwhelming, as there are countless ministries that could benefit from our support. There are always those in need, there are always things around the church that can be done, and there are always causes that could use a financial gift. And then there are systemic problems like racism and poverty that, quite frankly, seem like insurmountable issues.

August 17, 2014 - Proper 15A

Lectionary Readings

            Almighty God, as you know, today is my last Sunday serving as a priest at St. Francis. Prayer is always a fitting response in times of transition, so what better way to spend this final time in the pulpit than in prayer? Today's reading from Genesis isn't quite about a departure, but rather a reunion between Joseph and his brothers who assumed that he was dead. Now, Lord, I know some of us complain about our families, but you sure did have your work cut out for you with this one. Those brothers wanted to kill Joseph, but Reuben convinces them to instead sell him into slavery. Well, as you would have it, Joseph rose through the ranks of Pharaoh's courts and became his right-hand man. When there was a famine in the land, and Joseph had instructed Pharaoh to build up a stock of extra food, his brothers journey from Canaan. Instead of telling his brothers who he is, he hides his identity and accuses them of being spies. As we heard today, Joseph reveals himself to his brothers and the family rejoices for being brought back together. That day, the emotions ran deep.