Tag: Matthew 6:1-6 16-21
-
Rethinking Ash Wednesday And Lent – A Sermon On Isaiah 58:1-12
Years ago I heard a story about a priest who went to a new parish. I don’t know if it really happened; it probably didn’t, but I think there’s some truth in the story. Anyway, the priest was meeting and getting to know the people and would ask about their relationship with God. Most responded Read more
-
No Dust, No Life – An Ash Wednesday Sermon On Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
One of the things I know about myself is that I am not a singer. You know it too. Some of you have told me I’m not. But did you know that I can play the trumpet and I’m pretty good at it? Here’s what I mean by that. I remember a session in which Read more
-
The Lenten Treasure Hunt
For many in the Church Lent begins today with Ash Wednesday. It’s forty days long, reflecting the forty days Jesus spent in the wilderness. It’s a time to prepare for the new life that will be revealed on Easter Sunday. Lent is usually characterized by fasting, self-denial, and repentance. Even if Lent is not a Read more
-
I Don’t Want To Do Lent This Year – An Ash Wednesday Sermon On Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
I’m not sure if this is a confession or just a description of where I am these days but I don’t want to do Lent this year. Do you? Let me explain what I mean by that. We began tonight by praying that we would worthily lament our sins and acknowledge our wretchedness so that Read more
-
Pulling Back The Husks On My Life – An Ash Wednesday Sermon On Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Most weeks as I am preparing my sermon at some point I call a retired priest who, for almost thirty years, has been my spiritual director, mentor, and one of my two best friends. We talk about our lives, the scriptures, my sermon ideas, and how what I am reading and studying are connecting with Read more
-
The Perfect Question For Ash Wednesday – An Ash Wednesday Sermon
Ash Wednesday – Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” That’s the last line of Mary Oliver’s poem, “The Summer Day.” I had never thought of my life as wild and precious until I read her question. I love the invitation, freedom, and Read more
-
Mortality And The Fragility Of Life – An Ash Wednesday Sermon On Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
We live in a tension between the uncertainty of life and the certainty of death. And we work pretty hard at denying, ignoring, forgetting, outrunning, and overcoming those twin realities. But they are always there. They are always present to us in the same way the ashes with which we will be marked were already… Read more
-
Giving Away Our Hearts – An Ash Wednesday Sermon on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Where we begin our Lenten journey is not as important as where it takes us. In the same way, what we give up, take on, or do for Lent are not as important as what those things do for us. Read more
-
Yesterday’s Palms, Today’s Ashes – An Ash Wednesday Sermon on Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21
Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21 Several years ago someone said to me, “One day I finally realized people were not spending nearly the amount of time thinking about me as I was spending thinking about them thinking about me, and wondering what they saw when they looked at me, what they said about me, and what they Read more
Interrupting the Silence 