An Episcopal Priest's Sermons, Prayers, and Reflections on Life, Becoming Human, and Discovering Our Divinity
Photo by Drahomír Posteby-Mach on Unsplash I was invited to be the guest preacher at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, San Antonio, on the Sunday before The Rev. Beth Knowlton, rector of St. Mark’s, began her sabbatical. ————— I want to start by being…
Read More Yes Means Letting Go – A Sermon On John 13:31-35
“Do you want to be something or do you want to do something?” That’s the question a friend of mine was asked by his spiritual director many years ago. I wonder what that question brings up for you in your…
Read More What’s Your One Thing? – A Sermon On Mark 10:17-31
“Follow me,” isn’t only about going somewhere, it’s also about leaving behind. That’s the hard part for most of us. We’re pretty good at accumulating and clinging but not so good at letting go. More often than not our spiritual growth involves some kind of letting go. We accept Jesus’ invitation to follow, not by packing up, but by letting go. We can never get to a new place in life unless we are willing to leave where we are. We can never hold anything new or different unless we're willing to drop what's already in our hands. That means letting go of our nets, getting out of our boats, and walking away from old man Zebedee.
Proper 23B - Mark 10:17-31 “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?” I wonder what drove the man to Jesus. I wonder what was going on in his life that caused him to run to Jesus, kneel…
Read More A New Day, A New Life – A Sermon On Mark 10:17-31
Seeing Jesus isn’t a spectator sport. It is a way to be followed, a truth to be embodied, a life to be lived. It's being a grain of wheat that falls into the ground and dies so that it might bear much fruit. That's where we see him. It's the letting go, the emptying, the leaving behind, and the dying that makes space for new life to arise.
What if "Follow me" is Jesus' invitation to every one of us to step into the fullness of our life? What if it is the call to become fully alive? What if it's about becoming more authentically ourselves, living with integrity, and discovering our truest self? Maybe every time we act in such a way that our life seems to fit and our words and decisions reflect who we really are we are answering Jesus' call to follow him. Have you ever had the feeling that you just had to do something even though you didn't exactly know where it would take you or what would happen? It didn't just feel right. It felt necessary. And to do otherwise would be a betrayal of life and yourself? Maybe that's what how Simon and Andrew, and James and John felt. Maybe that's what it feels like to answer Jesus' call, "Follow me."
Every journey whether physical, emotional, or spiritual begins with leaving something behind. Maybe the reason we feel like we never get anywhere new in life is because we are unwilling to leave anything, much less everything, behind.
John 3:29b-30. "For this reason my joy has been fulfilled. He must increase, but I must decrease." I wonder what John the Baptist’s disciples are thinking when they hear him talk about becoming less. Their numbers are decreasing, and Jesus’…
The collect and readings for the Third Sunday after Epiphany, Year B, may be found here. The following sermon is based on the gospel, Mark 1:14-20. Simon and Andrew were casting a net into the sea for they were fishermen.…
Read More Casting and Mending – A Sermon on Mark 1:14-20, Epiphany 3B
The lectionary offers three options for the Second Sunday After Christmas. My parish will be celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6. We used the Matthew option last year. So this year I choose Luke 2:41-52 as our…
Read More Growing Up And Moving Home – A Sermon On Luke 2:41-52
Interrupting the Silence 