Category: Sermon

  • What’s Next? – A Sermon On Mark 4:26-34

    What’s Next? – A Sermon On Mark 4:26-34

    What’s next?  It’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately. What’s next for Uvalde? What’s next for me and my priesthood? What’s next for St. Philip’s? What’s next for Cyndy and me in our marriage and life together? What’s next for me and my life as an individual, a human being? What’s next? Read more

  • Be Crazy Like Jesus – A Sermon On Mark 3:20-35

    Be Crazy Like Jesus – A Sermon On Mark 3:20-35

    Last week we got angry Jesus. In this week’s gospel (Mark 3:20-35) we get crazy Jesus. People are saying, “He’s gone out of his mind.” They’re calling him insane. Have you ever thought Jesus was crazy? Have you ever said he was out of his mind? I don’t think I have but more and more Read more

  • Be Angry Like Jesus – A Sermon On Mark 2:23-3:6

    Be Angry Like Jesus – A Sermon On Mark 2:23-3:6

    Last week Cyndy and I were leaving the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin when a little boy who was probably two or three or years old screamed at his mother, “I want to catch a dragonfly.” He was so angry and he was loud. He sat on the ground yelling and crying.  “But Read more

  • Filling The Empty Space – A Trinity Sunday Sermon On John 3:1-17

    Filling The Empty Space – A Trinity Sunday Sermon On John 3:1-17

    Today is Trinity Sunday but I’m not going to say much about the Father, the Son, or the Holy Spirit. Today, I’m more interested in the empty space. Are you familiar with the empty space in the Trinity? Let me show you what I’m talking about.  This is Andrei Rublev’s icon of the Holy Trinity. Read more

  • What’s Your One Thing? – A Sermon On The Second Anniversary Of The Uvalde Mass Shooting

    What’s Your One Thing? – A Sermon On The Second Anniversary Of The Uvalde Mass Shooting

    Wednesday of this week I was at the civic for the press conference announcing a settlement between the City of Uvalde and some of the families whose children died in the Robb School shooting. Two years ago tonight I was at the civic center with families as they awaited an announcement about their children. We Read more

  • What Is Amazing And Perplexing You? – A Pentecost Sermon On Acts 2:1-21

    What Is Amazing And Perplexing You? – A Pentecost Sermon On Acts 2:1-21

    I’m going to begin with a couple of questions that ask you to reflect on your life. Since today is the Feast of Pentecost they are questions about the Holy Spirit in your life. You ready? Here’s my first question. What is amazing you today? I’m talking about the kind of amazement that deepens your Read more

  • What Is Your Final Prayer? – A Sermon On John 17:6-19

    What Is Your Final Prayer? – A Sermon On John 17:6-19

    In just a moment I’m going to ask you to compose a prayer in your head. Don’t worry, I won’t ask you to pray it out loud. This isn’t, however, just any prayer. This is your last prayer.  If you had only one prayer left to offer what would your final prayer be?  What’s the Read more

  • Stepping Into The Gap – An Ascension Day Sermon On Acts 1:1-11

    Stepping Into The Gap – An Ascension Day Sermon On Acts 1:1-11

    One minute Jesus was standing with and talking to his disciples. They can see him. They can hear his voice. And if they had reached out they could’ve touched him. The next minute, “he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.” (Acts 1:1-11) I have no idea how that happened Read more

  • The Imprints On Our Lives – A Sermon On John 15:9-17

    The Imprints On Our Lives – A Sermon On John 15:9-17

    In each of our lives there are people who have left their imprint on us. It may be something they said or did, the values they gave us, the example they set. They marked our life in ways that continue to influence and guide us whether they live down the street, across the country, or Read more