February 22, 2015 - Lent 1B

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God, who creates, redeems, and sustains. Amen.

            The story of Noah’s ark may be one of the most well-known stories from Genesis, or even the entire Bible. But after the two-by-two, the flood, and the dove, comes a very important part of the story. At the conclusion, God says to Noah “As for me, I am establishing my covenant with you and your descendants… that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of a flood.” Then the covenant is enacted through the sign of a rainbow. This is the first covenant between God and Creation that is found in Scripture, but the idea of covenant will be reintroduced with Abraham and David, the prophet Jeremiah will write about the covenant, and at the Last Supper, Jesus will allude to the covenant. Over the next five Sundays of Lent, the idea of covenant will be present in our readings, so my Lenten preaching will focus on the idea of covenant and what it means for our life and faith.

February 18, 2015 - Ash Wednesday

Lectionary Readings

In the name of God, who creates, redeems, and sustains. Amen.

       “Is such the fast that I choose, a day to humble oneself? Is it to bow down the head like a bulrush, and to lie in sackcloth and ashes? Will you call this a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of injustice, to undo the thongs of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke?” What is the purpose of Lent? Though the Judean prophet Isaiah was not writing about the Christian season of Lent, for thousands of years the faithful have asked the question – what would God have us to do?

February 15, 2015 - Last Sunday of Epiphany

Lectionary Readings

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

            Have you ever had an experience of the Divine? A moment where you were aware of God’s presence as certain as you were of your own existence? Today’s Gospel passage from Mark records one such Divine encounter, known as the Transfiguration, though, I’ve yet to meet anyone whose experience has been quite that robust. Perhaps you’ve had such an experience through prayer. Though, in full disclosure, prayer has not yet led to such a Divine rendezvous for me. It’s important to notice that these encounters with God in Scripture never come about as the result of any incantation or as the result of human action. Abraham wasn’t expecting a child in his old age, Moses did not expect to find a burning bush, Mary did not plan her pregnancy, and Paul did not deserve to meet the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus.

February 1, 2015 - Epiphany 4B

Lectionary Readings

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

            “By this everyone will know you are my disciples, that you have love for one another.” Those are Jesus’ words in John, noting that love is our highest calling. Faith and discipleship boil down to that very simple practice- love one another. In the letter to the Corinthian church that we heard this morning, St. Paul writes to encourage the community of the faithful there to focus more on love and less on the competition of who is right. It was good advice 2,000 years ago, and it is good advice today.

January 18, 2014 - Epiphany 2B

Lectionary Readings

Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

            That prayer, known as the Collect for Purity, begins our worship each Sunday. It is, perhaps, one of most powerful and intimate prayers that I know of. A version of that prayer dates back to the 11^th century, so it has quite literally been prayed for over a millennium. The form that we have today has been in every Book of Common Prayer since the first one was published in 1549. That is one of the best parts of the Episcopal tradition- that our prayers have roots and when we pray them, our voices join with the multitudes through the ages that have prayed these very words. But anytime a prayer is so familiar, it can easily become rote. Given the context of Psalm 139, this morning I’d like to consider the depths of the Collect for Purity.

January 11, 2015 - Epiphany 1B

Lectionary Readings

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

            Today is a day about beginnings. Our reading from Genesis starts with “in the beginning;” and our reading from Mark comes from the start of that gospel. And, of course, we’re at the start of a new year. In The Four Quartets, TS Eliot famously says “in my beginning is my end.” If you attended the December class on the Gospel according to Mark, you’ll remember that we discussed the notion that this first chapter of Mark is an overture of sorts to the entire Gospel. This story of Jesus’ baptism serves to set us up for the theological and emotional trajectory for the rest of Mark.

January 6, 2015 - Epiphany

Lectionary Readings

May Almighty God, who led the Wise Men by the shining of a star to find the Christ, the Light from Light, lead us also, in our pilgrimage, to find the Lord. Amen.

            On Epiphany, we celebrate the manifestation of Jesus to the world, as the Holy Family was visited by visitors from the East. And in their encounter, there are several things for us to take note of and build upon in our own faith journeys. The first thing we see about the magi’s encounter with God is that it did not go according to the plan. It’s often the same for us too, isn’t it? These wise men were astrologers, journeying from a far away land because of a sign that they saw in the night sky. But notice that they don’t follow the star all the way to Bethlehem. No, instead they show up Herod’s palace in Jerusalem. Bethlehem and Jerusalem are about 6 miles apart, roughly the distance from here to the Rowan County portion of the Yadkin River. Not bad by car, but by camel that’s a least a an hour off. What we see in the magi is that they missed finding God on their first attempt. They thought they were following the signs, they thought they were on the right path,  they even had a divine sign in the star, and they still managed to miss Bethlehem by a decent margin.