Tag: Life

  • Will to Power or Will to Life? – A Palm Sunday Sermon on Matthew 21:1-11

    Will to Power or Will to Life? – A Palm Sunday Sermon on Matthew 21:1-11

    Have you ever thought of Jesus’ Palm Sunday procession as a protest march? What if that’s what it really is? What if it is a resistance movement? What if it is highlighting the struggle that takes place in every human heart – the will to power or the will to life? I’ve come to believe… Read more

  • The Choice is Yours – A Sermon on Sirach 15:15-20 and Matthew 5:21-37

    The Choice is Yours – A Sermon on Sirach 15:15-20 and Matthew 5:21-37

    Have you ever gotten exactly what you chose only to realize it was not what you really wanted? Have you ever made a choice that you knew was the right choice, a good choice, but it left you feeling empty, as if something was missing? Despite getting what you wanted, what you chose, your life… Read more

  • Taking Ourselves More Seriously than God – An Ash Wednesday Sermon, Mt. 6:1-6, 16-21

    Taking Ourselves More Seriously than God – An Ash Wednesday Sermon, Mt. 6:1-6, 16-21

    “Beware of practicing your piety before others in order to be seen by them, for then you have no reward from your father in heaven.” (Mt. 6:1-6, 16-21; Ash Wednesday) Don’t sound the trumpet when you give alms. Don’t pray standing on the street corner attracting attention to yourself. Don’t show off by your fasting.… Read more

  • Keeping the Rules or Keeping the Relationship? A Sermon on Matthew 5:21-37

    Keeping the Rules or Keeping the Relationship? A Sermon on Matthew 5:21-37

    You have heard it said, “The Old Testament is a book of law and judgment.” You have heard it said, “The New Testament is a book of grace and love.” But I say to you, “Welcome to today’s gospel!” (Matthew 5:21-37, Epiphany 6A) Today’s gospel won’t let us make those simple and inaccurate distinctions. Jesus’… Read more

  • Believing in the Giver of Life

    For most of us, I suspect, there are moments when the existential questions of life can no longer be answered, ignored, or denied by focusing on our careers, jobs, marriages, families, acquisitions, or accomplishments. Who am I? What is my purpose? What have I really accomplished? How will I be remembered? Will I even be… Read more

  • Dying to Live – A Sermon on John 12:20-33; Lent 5B

    The collect and reading for the Fifth Sunday of Lent may be found here. The following sermon is based on John 12:20-33. They say there are three things that cannot be talked about. You know them, right? Religion, sex, and politics. I think they are wrong. We do talk about those things. We just do… Read more