As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, first […]
We are living in a difficult time, a time in which it is very easy to become despondent and discouraged. Global pandemics, threats to the foundations of our democracy, our growing awareness of the ways that our very culture is infused with white privilege and supremacy, gun violence and mass shootings, the growing gap between […]
On this day, Trinity Sunday, I am not going to attempt to explain the Trinity to you, for I can’t. The doctrine of the Trinity, that God is one God and three persons all at the same time is not explainable. It is a human attempt to explain that which is beyond human explanation—the Divine. […]
Fear. I would imagine that this was the primary emotion floating around that upper room in Jerusalem more than 2000 years ago. This small band of Jesus followers have been on quite a rollercoaster. For a few years they ardently listened to and followed Jesus. He gave them hope and courage in a time when […]
Note: As you listen to or read my sermon today, you may be wondering why I am not preaching about the tragedy of this past week. I beg your forgiveness. I simply have no words left to speak after so many years of the same tragedies happening again and again. May God have mercy on […]
I have heard this story of Jesus healing the blind, lame, and paralyzed man at the pool of Beth-zatha hundreds of times, and every time I hear it what stands out to me is Jesus’ question to the disabled man, “Do you want to be made well?” I think to myself, “Well, duh Jesus, of […]
“Love one another, as I have loved you.” This is a very simple statement. Easy to understand. Easy to grasp. Jesus knows he will be leaving his followers soon. He knows that he will be arrested and killed within a few hours, and he is giving some final instructions to those he has known so […]
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want. As this is Good Shepherd Sunday, I found myself thinking a bit more deeply about sheep than I normally do. Actually, normally I don’t think about sheep at all. Sheep are often described as being stupid, but that description really only applies to domestic […]
I have a complicated relationship with the Gospel of John. The Jesus portrayed in this Gospel is my least favorite. He talks a lot, a whole lot. He goes on and on for pages and pages talking about himself, often repeating the same idea over and over again. And this always speaking Jesus doesn’t do […]
I think it is safe to say that most Episcopalians, indeed most mainline Protestant Christians and Roman Catholics, are uncomfortable with the Book of Revelation, the last book in our Holy Scriptures. There are 22 chapters in the Book of Revelation with a total of 404 verses. Over the course of our three-year lectionary cycle […]