An Episcopal Priest's Sermons, Prayers, and Reflections on Life, Becoming Human, and Discovering Our Divinity
“Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” That’s the question the apostles ask Jesus in today’s first reading (Acts 1:6-14). In one form or another it’s probably a question we’ve all asked at times…
Read More Who Will Restore The Kingdom? – A Sermon On Acts 1:6-14
So what do you make of today’s gospel (Matthew 25: 31-46)? Is Jesus separating the good from the bad? Is Jesus saying some are welcome and included in the kingdom but others are rejected and excluded? Is Jesus keeping score of what we’ve done and left undone and then handing out rewards and punishment? And if he is, are you in or out, a sheep or a goat? I wonder if we’ve misunderstood what’s happening when Jesus separates. Maybe the separation Jesus makes doesn’t look a thing like the separations we usually make. Maybe the purpose of the separation Jesus makes is the exact opposite of the purpose for which we often make separations.
I thought I knew or had some idea of what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah. The events of the last six months, however, have caused me to rethink what it means. It used to be mostly a Sunday morning kind of question, but now it’s an every day kind of question. It used to be about the future, but now it’s about the present moment. It’s no longer only or even primarily about saving souls, it’s about changing hearts. And if Jesus is not changing your heart and my heart then he is not the Messiah of our lives. And if he is our Messiah then he necessarily changes how we live.
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
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.”
Today’s gospel (Luke 9:51-62) is a difficult one. It’s confrontational and it doesn’t leave much, if any, wiggle room. “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” We’re either looking toward the kingdom or we are not. We’re either responding to the call of life or we’re not. We’re either open to the coming future or we’re not.
"Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another” (from Matthew 11:2-11, Advent 3A)? That doesn’t sound like the guy we heard from last week. So what’s happened to John the Baptist? Last week…
Read More Recognizing the One Who is to Come – A Sermon on Matthew 11:2-11
The collect and readings for the Third Sunday after Pentecost, Prober 6B, may be found here. The following sermon is based on 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13; 2 Corinthians 5:6-17; and Mark 4:26-34. We live in a world that mostly believes what…
Today is the Last Sunday in the Season after Pentecost. Although, it is not a formally recognized feast day in the Book of Common Prayer, today is often celebrated as the Feast of Christ the King. The collect and readings…
Read More The Feast of Christ the King
Interrupting the Silence 