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Blessing of a Labyrinth
Last evening, May 1, our parish celebrated its feast day, the Feast of St. Philip. The evening included Holy Eucharist and a dedication and blessing of the newly completed labyrinth and prayer garden using the liturgy below. + + + Through the ages, Almighty God has moved his people to set apart holy places for…
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Flowering of the Cross
One of the great Easter traditions is the flowering of the cross. People bring and place colorful fresh flowers on a drab wooden cross. What’s behind this? Is it just a pretty decoration? Well, it does look beautiful but there are also some beautiful traditions and meanings associated with the flowering of the cross. The…
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Yes, It’s Still True – A Sermon for Easter, Matthew 28:1-10
It’s true. It’s all true. Christ is risen! That’s the only that needs to be said today. In some ways it’s the only thing that can be said. That Jesus has been raised from the dead is the only thing I really have to tell you today. Nothing more. Nothing less. It’s the same thing…
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The Morning After – A Sermon for Holy Saturday
Jesus’ body has been taken down from the cross, received into the hands of his mother and friends. They have wrapped his body in their love and laid him in the tomb. The door of the tomb has been replaced by a great stone. (Matthew 27:57-66) This is not only a story about Jesus. It is…
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Lamentations for Holy and Great Saturday
In a grave they laid Thee, O my life and my Christ; and the armies of the Angels were sore amazed, as they sang the praise of Thy submissive love. How, O Life, canst Thou die? Or abide in a grave? For Thou dost destroy the kingdom of death, O Lord, and Thou raisest up…
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Hell Awaits – A Sermon for Good Friday, John 18:1-19:42
Last night we began taking our share with Jesus. We ate the last supper. We washed feet. We stripped the altar. We come here today much the same as we left here last night. The table of our last supper has been cleared and is empty. The water that washed our feet has dried and…
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Taking our Share with Jesus – A Sermon for Maundy Thursday on John 13:1-17, 31-35
I’ve now been here at St. Philip’s long enough that you probably know one of the things I emphasize in my teaching, preaching, and our life together is the movement from thinking to experience, the practice of living out of our hearts rather than our heads. My focus on this is as much for me…
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Life-giving Turmoil – A Sermon for the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday, Matthew 21:1-11
Today is known as the Sunday of the Passion: Palm Sunday. (There are two gospel readings: Matthew 21:1-11 (the triumphal entry) and Matthew 27:11-54 (the passion)). I’ve been wondering and thinking though about a different name for this day. What if we renamed today “Turmoil Sunday?” Does that sound like the gospel to you? Did…
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Clothes Really Do Make the Man, and the Woman
“The Lord clothes his chosen souls in the garments of the ineffable light of his kingdom, the garments of faith, hope, love, joy, and peace, the garments of goodness and kindness and all comparable things. They are the divine garments pulsating with light and life, and they bring us peace that passes all description; for…
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Interrupting the Silence 