Category: Lent

  • All Shall Be Well – A Sermon On Psalm 23 And COVID-19

    All Shall Be Well – A Sermon On Psalm 23 And COVID-19

    “All shall be well. All shall be well. Every manner of thing shall be well.” I hope you will hold on to what those words say. Let them bind you to faith, hope, and love, and connect you to one another. The theme of those words – all shall be well – is the thread… Read more

  • The First Sunday Of COVID-19 – A Reflection On Exodus 17:1-7

    The First Sunday Of COVID-19 – A Reflection On Exodus 17:1-7

    It was The Third Sunday in Lent. We had planned to celebrate the Holy Eucharist beginning with the penitential order. It ended up being a different kind of Sunday; not your usual Third Sunday in Lent. We omitted the penitential order and began the liturgy with a prayer concerning COVID-19. There was no water in Read more

  • The Perfect Question For Ash Wednesday – An Ash Wednesday Sermon

    The Perfect Question For Ash Wednesday – An Ash Wednesday Sermon

    Ash Wednesday – Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?”  That’s the last line of Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Summer Day.” I had never thought of my life as wild and precious until I read her question. I love the invitation, freedom, and Read more

  • Life Is Promise And Risk – A Sermon On Luke 4:1-13

    Life Is Promise And Risk – A Sermon On Luke 4:1-13

    The promise and risk of life come to us asking for a response. Jesus had decisions to make. And so do we. We make decisions everyday of our life; decisions and choices about what to do, who we want to be, how we want to live. We sometimes call them temptations. We feel torn and… Read more

  • Life Before Death – An Ash Wednesday Sermon

    Life Before Death – An Ash Wednesday Sermon

    Maybe Lent and the gospel of Jesus are not primarily about being good, a program for changing from a bad person to a good person, so we can get a future reward. I’ve got nothing against being a good person (whatever that might mean) but I’ve never read where Jesus said, “I came that you… Read more

  • In the Nighttime of Life – A Sermon on Genesis 12:1-4 and John 3:1-17

    In the Nighttime of Life – A Sermon on Genesis 12:1-4 and John 3:1-17

    There comes a time in each of our lives when understanding and knowing give way to the darkness of not knowing and not understanding. The journey of faith, it seems, is a journey through the darkness. Maybe we all come “to Jesus by night.” Read more

  • Two Questions for Lent – A Sermon on Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11

    Two Questions for Lent – A Sermon on Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11

    Lent 1A: Genesis 2:15-17; 3:1-7 and Matthew 4:1-11 Over the last several years I’ve begun to see and understand Lent and temptations, the struggles in my life, in a different way. It used to be that I thought about those things in terms of self-denial: just say no, don’t do this, don’t do that; and Read more

  • Longing for God

    Longing for God

    Most of us likely understand or have been told that Lent is a penitential season. We give something up, take on a new discipline, work to change our ways. None of this is wrong. But what if Lent is more than that? Read more

  • Giving Away Our Hearts – An Ash Wednesday Sermon on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

    Giving Away Our Hearts – An Ash Wednesday Sermon on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

    Where we begin our Lenten journey is not as important as where it takes us. In the same way, what we give up, take on, or do for Lent are not as important as what those things do for us. Read more