The Second Sunday in Advent, Year A – Matthew 3:1-12 What if I preached like John the Baptist? What if I was as blunt and direct as he is? What if one Sunday I began my sermon like this? “So what brought you slithering in here today? You sons of … snakes. Why are you here? To get out of the cold? To see your … Continue reading Life Can Be Different – An Advent Sermon On Matthew 3:1-12
Song of Solomon 2:10-13; 8:6-7 and John 15:9-12 I am going to start by asking you some simple questions – yes or no kind of questions. I don’t mean to put pressure on you but if you get the answers wrong you’ll ruin my sermon and probably your wedding too. Don’t worry, it’ll be easy. Yes or no. Nano, do you love Sarah? Do you … Continue reading The Double Yes of Marriage – A Wedding Sermon On Song of Solomon 2:10-13; 8:6-7
“It is not true that creation and the human family are doomed to destruction and loss— This is true: For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. It is not true that we must accept inhumanity and discrimination, hunger and poverty, death and destruction— This is true: I … Continue reading Entering Advent In Hope – Fr. Daniel Berrigan
The First Sunday in Advent, Year A – Matthew 24:36-44 “But about that day and hour no one knows,” Jesus says. I hear those words and can’t help but remember days and hours about which I did not and could not know: The day and hour I became a dad for the first time; The day and hour a judge decreed that I was a … Continue reading Advent Possibilites – A Sermon On Matthew 24:36-44
The Feast of All Saints, Year C – Luke 6:20-31 Blessed are the poor, the hungry, and the ones who are weeping. But woe to the rich, the full, and the ones who are laughing. Poverty over riches, hunger over fullness, and weeping over laughing. Are those the priories you have in your life today? Is that what you want for yourself? Your spouse and … Continue reading The How Of Life – A Sermon On Luke 6:20-31, Feast of All Saints
Proper 19C – Luke 15:1-10 I remember hearing someone say, “I feel like there are parts of myself that have been lost along the way, and I don’t know if I can go back and find them again.” It was nearly twenty years ago when I heard that and it’s never left me. I knew exactly what he was talking about. I thought about parts … Continue reading Finding The Lost Pieces Of Our Lives – A Sermon On Luke 15:1-10
I don’t know if we were entertaining an angel that day, but I do know that she was a stranger. She was not a stranger in the sense that she was unknown and unfamiliar to me. I had dealt with her before. She was, however, a stranger in the sense that she was different from me and the others in the class. Her look, smell, and way of life were strange to us.
I said to her Holall the right things, at least out loud I did. But the ideas, thoughts, and conversation inside me were a bit different. Continue reading Hospitality: Unlocking The Door Of The Heart – A Sermon On Luke 14:1, 7-14
Liturgies and prayer often mark moments of transition. Baptism, marriage, confirmation, and reconciliation are examples of that. What about beginning the new school year? It also is a time of transition. The new year represents growth and change; moving to a new classroom, school, or town; more responsibility and maturity. Below is one possibility for a blessing of the backpacks and a prayer for the … Continue reading Blessing Of The Backpacks: A Prayer For The Start Of School
Many years ago a close, dear friend gave Cyndy and me a gift. “Open it now,” she said. We unwrapped it and took it out of the box. It was a piece of pottery, about six inches in diameter, beige colored, in the shape of a dome. There was a hole in the top and it was hollow inside. “Oh, it’s beautiful. Thank you so much,” we said. “It’s perfect. We love it.”
Have you ever received a gift and had no idea what it was or what you were supposed to do with it? I wonder if that’s what happens to us when we hear Jesus say, “It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Continue reading A Non-Possessive Life – A Sermon On Luke 12:32-40
O Lord of life, the God of our salvation, who bears our burdens: Our hearts have once again been broken by violence and gunfire; this time in Gilroy, El Paso, and Dayton. Our eyes waste away with grief. Our spirit shakes with terror. How long, O Lord, how long? Continue reading A Prayer For Gilroy, El Paso, And Dayton
