Author Archives: amcaudill27

Look the Serpent in the Eye

Numbers 21:4-9 After forty years in the desert, the people of God are tired, downtrodden, and impatient. They have just recently learned that the older generation will not live to see the promised land- all those who were adults when Moses led them out of Egypt, including Moses himself, will die before crossing the JordanContinue reading “Look the Serpent in the Eye”

Every Body Holy

John 2:13-22 When I asked what struck our Lenten study group the most about this passage when they read it last week, one of the responses was the sheer size and magnificence of the Temple. We Christians sometimes conflate our own ideas of churches and cathedrals with the Temple of Ancient Jerusalem. But the scaleContinue reading “Every Body Holy”

Setting Our Minds on Him

Mark 8:31-38 There has been a lot of buzz both online and in conversations all over the country about a certain Super Bowl ad. For two years now, something called the He Gets Us campaign has been purchasing and running advertisements during prime-time sporting events. The ads have a high production value, and cost millionsContinue reading “Setting Our Minds on Him”

An Unarmed God

Genesis 9:8-17 It has always fascinated me that the story of Noah and the Ark is such a fixture in children’s toys and books and Sunday School lessons. There are at least four Noah’s Ark ornaments on our tree every year from Ben’s childhood, and I have served in multiple churches with the scenes ofContinue reading “An Unarmed God”

Time Honored Traditions

Mark 9:2-9 This week, I came across a social media post by a fellow priest that I cannot stop thinking about. It reads like this: “Noticing in this Sunday’s gospel lesson that Peter begins that time honored church tradition: Facing a terrifying existential threat (in this case the glory of the Lord) by proposing aContinue reading “Time Honored Traditions”

A Day in the Life

Mark 1:29-39 There are some days when I feel especially grateful to the hundreds and thousands of people who contributed to the composition and preservation of the Scriptures. Today, as we read this passage from Mark, is one of those days. A lot of people over two thousand years and many continents made it possibleContinue reading “A Day in the Life”

Expansive Love

This sermon was preached on the Occasion of the baptism of twin boys, and speaks more to that momentous occasion than to any specific lections. The Propers for the day were Epiphany 2, Year B. While I was on my pilgrimage this past fall, the last site we visited was also my favorite. It wasContinue reading “Expansive Love”

The Fourth Birth Narrative

Mark 1:4-11 For a long time, I believed there was only one story of Jesus’s birth- the one with the small town and the manger and the angels and shepherds and wise men. Then I learned that there were two- one had the wise men, one didn’t. Then I studied the four Gospels for yearsContinue reading “The Fourth Birth Narrative”

The Perfect Fit

Isaiah 61:10-62:3 I had the great blessing of going home to Kentucky this week to see my family and celebrate Christmas with them. As so many of us have done over the last week, we exchanged and opened gifts together. We all received beautiful flannel shirts from our grandmother, and many of us were soContinue reading “The Perfect Fit”