An Episcopal Priest's Sermons, Prayers, and Reflections on Life, Becoming Human, and Discovering Our Divinity
“What are you looking for?” That’s the question Jesus asks in today’s gospel (John 1:29-42). We’re now two weeks into the new year and I wonder, what are you looking for in 2023? It’s been seven and a half months…
Read More What Are You Looking For? – A Sermon On John 1:29-42
What happened to John the Baptist? That’s the question that comes up for me when I hear today’s gospel (Matthew 11:2-11). Last week (Matthew 3:1-12) John was a voice crying out in the wilderness. He was preparing the way of…
Read More Imprisoned By Our Blinders – A Sermon On Matthew 11:2-11
Photo by Ray Fragapane on Unsplash Today’s gospel (Luke 3:7-18) is the continuation of last week’s gospel (Luke 3:1-6). They are two parts of the same story and I don't think we can fully understand today's without the context of last week's Last…
Read More What Then Should We Do? – A Sermon On Luke 3:7-18
There’s a particular person in my life I sometimes just don’t want to be with. It’s often uncomfortable and sometimes scary to be together. There are times when I intentionally avoid this person. Sometimes I don’t like what I see…
Read More Looking At The Landscape Of Our Lives – A Sermon On Luke 3:1-6
Seventh Sunday After Pentecost: Proper 10, Year B - Mark 6:14-29 Photo by sankavi on Unsplash Do you ever feel like your life is haunted, like something unresolved has come to visit? Do you ever feel like something is wandering…
Read More What Haunts You Today? – A Sermon On Mark 6:14-29
What do you do when your prayer is not answered, the budget doesn’t work out, expectations are not met? What do you do when your plan doesn’t come together, a relationship ends, or life is interrupted? What do you do when it’s a hard day and you just want to say no and run away? Today’s gospel sets before us two choices. We can either resist, forbid, and try to prevent what is coming to us, which is what John wants to do. Or we can permit it and “let it be,” which is what Jesus tells John to do.
The Third Sunday in Advent, Year A - Matthew 11:2-11 John the Baptist in Prison by Giousto de Menabuoi (1320–1391) John yelled at his disciples, “The Messiah is doing what!?” His voice escaped between the bars of his cell and…
Read More Filling The Jesus Gap – A Sermon On Matthew 11:2-11
The Second Sunday in Advent, Year A - Matthew 3:1-12 By Visitor7 - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons What if I preached like John the Baptist? What if I was as blunt and direct as he is? What…
Read More Life Can Be Different – An Advent Sermon On Matthew 3:1-12
I remember asking the what-to-do question in my teen age and early adult years as I thought about and made decisions. I asked it during my separation and after my divorce. I asked it after our son Brandon died. I’ve asked it after I said or did something that hurt another. I’ve asked it when I felt lost, overwhelmed, powerless, scared, or guilty. I’ve asked it when the pain of the world is palpable, when those I love and care about are hurting, when others are dealing with the hardships and the difficulty of life. What then should I do? Who and how do I want to be in this moment?
Does any of that sound familiar in your life? When have you asked the question? And what was going on?
What do you see when you look at your past?
What are the feelings and thoughts?Regardless of how we view our past, regardless of what did or not happen back then, to the degree we are enmeshed, entangled, or enslaved to our past, “we can expect the future to look like the past” (Caputo, The Weakness of God, 169). We repeat the same patterns, tell ourselves the same old stories, and listen to same old voices. And not much changes. Life becomes static and we are stuck in the past trying to live a life that is no longer.
John’s call for repentance is the call for us to face and deal with our past.
Interrupting the Silence 