September 3, 2023 - The Fourteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Holy Spirit, set us ablaze with your love, that we might be lights to the world. Amen.

            “Earth’s crammed with heaven, and every common bush afire with God, but only they who see takes off their shoes; the rest sit round and pluck blackberries.” That is a part of a poem by Elizabeth Barret Browning, an English poet who lived in the 1800s. It’s one of my favorite lines in poetry, or prose, and you’ve probably heard me quote it before. My hope is that if you haven’t yet heard me say it enough to have it memorized, that, eventually, you will. In a nutshell, that’s what faith is all about – being alive to the fact that, indeed, every bush is afire with God. As our first reading this morning is Moses’ divine encounter at the burning bush, it is good to remember that earth is crammed with heaven.

August 27, 2023 - The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary readings

God of all things and all times, we are so distracted and forgetful, help us to always remember that we abide in your love. Amen.

            Remember. If there’s a refrain that runs throughout Scripture that may well be it – remember. Remember that God is God and we are not. Remember the poor and orphaned. Remember the sabbath day. Remember the promises of God. Remember that I am with you always. Our problem is that we already have too many things to remember. I have lists, I have calendar notifications, and I usually have a few things in my head that I try to keep there until I can get to a piece of paper and add them to the list. And, as you know, there’s a whole sphere of our economy that exists because we know that we’re not going to remember it all – it’s called automation, where computers do the remembering for us when it comes to paying utility bills or renewing subscriptions.

August 20, 2023 - The Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Help us to be bold in our faith and to trust the wideness of your grace, O Lord. Amen.

            There’s no way around it, that passage from Matthew is a tough text. As much as I would prefer to preach on a different passage, I know that avoiding tough passages is a dereliction of duty for a preacher. We also know from the story of Jacob in Genesis that blessings often come through wrestling with God, and so I pray that this challenging interaction between Jesus and a Canaanite woman gives us all a blessing.

August 13, 2023 - The Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Almighty God, be with us in our storms and help us to put our full trust in you ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            That was quite the storm we had on Monday night, wasn’t it? We were out at dinner after going to Open House at Overton Elementary School and could barely see our car through the rain, which was parked right in front of the restaurant. There was thunder, lightning, and violent wind. We had some big limbs down and I know some of you did as well. But can you imagine being out on a fishing boat at night in the middle of a lake and having that sort of storm pop up? It would be absolutely terrifying.

August 6, 2023 - The Feast of the Transfiguration

Lectionary Readings

Creating God, awaken us to your glory all around us ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

Though I’ve been the priest here for nearly nine years, there are some things that you might not know about me. For example, in college, I played the cymbals in the Wake Forest Marching Band; or, I’m a certified kettlebell instructor. A few of you know this about me, and my daughters certainly know it – I hate glitter. I refer to glitter as Satan’s dandruff and think that it might be one of the worst inventions in all of human history. Glitter gets everywhere and there is no such thing as getting all of it cleaned up once one of those little bottles of chaos has been opened. People who truly know me know that I abhor glitter.

July 30, 2023 - The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

O Lord of all things, in the midst of things temporal, help us to cherish and abide in the things eternal ☩ in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Amen.

            It really is so good to be back. As I’ve told a few people this week, I love this church and I love my job. On Sunday, April 16, I said that these three months of sabbatical would be a gift, and they were. Thank you for your encouragement and support to take this sabbatical, and thank you for welcoming me back. From what I’ve heard and what I know to be true, the staff was amazing in keeping ministries going strong, the Vestry and Wardens provided solid leadership, your faithfulness and commitment to this parish continued, and Father Tom did an outstanding job. I am grateful for the sabbatical and I am grateful to be back.

June 18, 2023 - The Third Sunday after Pentecost

Lectionary Readings

Preached at All Saints Episcopal Mission, Linville, North Carolina

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

            Do you have a favorite gift that you’ve ever received? Maybe it was a book that changed your perspective on life, perhaps something you use often in a hobby, or it could be something that has more sentimental value than it does monetary. This morning, using St. Paul’s words in Romans, I want to contemplate the greatest gift that God has given us: love. The word that the Church uses to talk about this gift is “grace.” That’s what grace means – it is a gift.