Interrupting the Silence

Tag: Jesus

  • Communal Believing – The Nicene Creed, Part 3

    Someone once asked an old hermit, “Is Jesus your personal Lord and Savior?” “No,” he said. “I prefer to share him with others.” There is wisdom in the hermit’s words. The Christian life is not about “me and my Jesus.” That’s too small, too easy, and too risky. It can quickly degenerate into “Sheilaism.” In Read more

  • Who Believes? The Nicene Creed, Part 2

    The following article was originally written for Reflections Online and published by the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas. It is the second in a series on the Nicene Creed. Part 1 may be found here. The earliest creedal statements were short professions of faith, often reflected local concerns, and were not necessarily concerned with uniformity Read more

  • Repetitious Believing – The Nicene Creed, Part 1

    I can believe a thousand different things by lunchtime on any given day. “I believe the world is round.” “I believe the sky is falling.” “I believe I’ll have the enchilada plate, thank you.” Some of my beliefs are grounded in facts and reality. Others are based on fears, wounds, and losses. And still others Read more

  • Holy Bread for Holy Hunger – A Sermon on John 6:35, 41-51; Proper 14B

    The collect and reading for the Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 14B, may be found here. The following sermon is based on John 6:35, 41-51. It was supposed to be another feeding, or so they thought. That’s why everyone showed up in today’s gospel. Instead of more bread they got Jesus and conflict. The two Read more

  • Behold What Your Are, Become What You See – A Sermon for the Feast of the Transfiguration, Luke 9:28-36

    The collect and readings for the Feast of the Transfiguration may be found here. The following sermon is based on Luke 9:28-36. Most of us, I suspect, at some point each day, look in a mirror. We check our hair, our makeup, our teeth, our clothes. Mirrors show us what we look like. While it Read more

  • The Bread We Eat – A Sermon on John 6:24-35; Proper 13B

    The collect and readings for today, Proper 13B, may be found here. The following sermon is based on John 6:24-35. We live as hungry people in a hungry world. Everyone is looking for something that will sustain and nourish life, something that will feed and energize, something that will fill and satisfy. Everyone is looking Read more

  • Peaceful Storms – A Sermon on Mark 4:35-41; Proper 7B

    The collect and readings for the Fourth Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 7B, may be found here. The following sermon is based on Mark 4:35-41. “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped.” Jesus and his disciples are crossing the Sea of Galilee. They are Read more

  • Spiritual Formation – The Missional Challenge and Future of the Church

    I suspect that many parishes, priests, and lay persons may not consider spiritual formation as a means of or opportunity for outreach. Instead, parish outreach tends to focus on corporal needs such as hunger, homelessness, poverty, health care, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and issues of justice. This most certainly must continue. It was a Read more

  • Putting the Pieces Back Together – A Sermon on Mark 3:20-35

    The collect and readings for the Second Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 5B, may be found here. The following sermon is based on Mark 3:20-35. I remember a gentlemen telling me that his greatest fear is that someday he will be found out. “What do you mean?” I said. “That they will know I’m not who Read more