An Episcopal Priest's Sermons, Prayers, and Reflections on Life, Becoming Human, and Discovering Our Divinity
Alleluia. Christ is risen. Thank you for reading and supporting Interrupting the Silence. I am grateful for your presence through this past Holy Week and into Easter. Below are the sermons I preached. Easter peace be with you. O God, who…
Read More Sermons For Easter Sunday And Holy Week 2023
We call this day Palm Sunday, and for obvious reasons, but I wonder if it would be more accurate to call it Turmoil Sunday. What do you think of that? Would you be excited about coming to church on Turmoil…
Read More Maybe We Should Call It Turmoil Sunday – A Palm Sunday Sermon On Matthew 21:1-11
I often follow a thread or theme through Holy Week to Easter. This year I focused on self-betrayal, the ways in which we turn away from ourselves and our lives, and live less than who we truly are. It will…
Read More Sermons For Easter Sunday And Holy Week 2022
Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem (detail) by Enrique Simonet - Museo del Prado, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons Did anything strike you as strange about today’s first gospel reading (Luke 19:28-40)? Did it sound like something was missing? It’s the familiar Palm…
Read More The Things That Make For Peace – A Sermon Luke 19:28-40 For Palm Sunday
What if Jesus is more like us than we know or want to admit? What if Jesus was always working it out just like we are? What if he struggled with life and death in the same way we do? What if Holy Week for Jesus and for us is a week of figuring it out - figuring out who we are, what we’re about, what matters most; facing our fears and naming our hopes; uncovering, discovering, or recovering something new about ourselves and our lives? What if Jesus is as ambivalent and hesitant about this week as are we? What if today’s triumphal entry is more accurately described as the triumphal drive by or, since Jesus was on a colt, the triumphal ride by?
Whether it is the four seasons of the year or the seven seasons of the liturgical year, each season is a lens through which we see and experience life. Each season offers a unique perspective on life, highlights certain events,…
Read More Holy Week And Easter In The Season Of COVID-19
Palm Sunday - Matthew 21:1-11 A parishioner's front door decorated for Palm Sunday Most years Palm Sunday tends to focus on the palms. But not this year. This year there is no palm procession. We’re not waving our palms and…
Read More This Is The One – A Palm Sunday Sermon On Matthew 21:1-11
Mark's is the only gospel that says Jesus entered the temple, looked around, and left. So why did Jesus leave the temple and go to Bethany? The gospel tells us why. Jesus left the temple "as it was already late" (Mark 11:11). So that got me to wondering. What if this is about something more than just the time of day? What if Jesus is late getting somewhere or doing something?
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 that that’s exactly what is happening today. Palm Sunday, Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, sets up a confrontation and it has the whole city in turmoil.
The Palm/Entry Narrative - Luke 18:28-40 (41-46) The Passion Narrative - Luke 22:14-23:56 As we do every year we began this day by taking our place in the triumphal entry, singing our hosannas, and carrying our palms. The triumphal entry,…
Read More The Tearful Entry into Holy Week – A Palm Sunday Sermon on Luke 19:28-46
Interrupting the Silence 