John 6:1-21 I have lost count of the times I have heard someone ask “Will there be enough?” in the hours before a church event. As bodies flow into a potluck and the dishes on the table don’t seem to keep pace, we bite our nails and check the freezer for a backup plan. AsContinue reading “Enough”
Category Archives: ordinary time
Choosing Rest
Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 This week, I had the privilege of joining our friends at Trinity Lynchburg, Grace Memorial Lynchburg, and Peakland Baptist as they hosted Compassion Camp. It might have looked to us like a VBS, but the Trinity children’s minister reminded us often that this is not vacation Bible school, because most children doContinue reading “Choosing Rest”
The Dance of Power
Mark 6:14-29 & 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12b-19 The story of the death of John the Baptist is a gruesome and theatrical one, a strange blip in the middle of a record of Jesus’s public ministry. Other than Mark’s brief introduction to the tale, which is really just a short list of rumors being spread aboutContinue reading “The Dance of Power”
Partners in Ministry
Mark 6:1-13 Having just returned from a visit to my hometown, where I spent time among my own kin and in my family homes, I feel a particular closeness with Jesus in this passage. Ben and I went to Louisville to work, to represent our parishes and our diocese in a meeting of over aContinue reading “Partners in Ministry”
Naming the Hurt
Mark 5:21-43 For the past ten days, as many of you know, I have been in my hometown of Louisville Kentucky for the 81st General Convention of the Episcopal Church. It was a marathon of worship, parliamentary procedure, networking, reconnecting with old friends and mentors, and learning. I look forward to talking with you moreContinue reading “Naming the Hurt”
A Gardener’s Faith
Mark 4:26-34 This past Friday, I got a text from Ben about my garden. He had seen our neighbor groundhog investigating my herb garden. It’s honestly amazing that we haven’t seen him in there sooner, because he’s made himself two different entrances into our yard under our fence, both of which are protected from ourContinue reading “A Gardener’s Faith”
A New Kind of Family
Mark 3:20-35 Every time I have explored this Gospel passage in a Bible study with others, someone has made the honest observation that we don’t much like this part. Jesus seems angry, and impatient, and he is apparently very willing to abandon and disown his mother and siblings. He gives his detractors mysterious and complicatedContinue reading “A New Kind of Family”
May We Listen
1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20) When you walk around wearing head to toe black with a white band around your neck, you hear a lot of people’s opinions about the Church. Sometimes people rush to tell you where they go to church and who their pastor is, or how often they go to church, or what denominationContinue reading “May We Listen”
What To Do at the End of the World
Matthew 25:31-46 Lately, I’ve been having a lot of conversations about the end of the world. The pandemic, the once-in-a-generation cataclysms that are happening multiple times a year, the horrors of war and genocide all have us anxious, and grieving, and exhausted. A friend who lives and works in Jerusalem recently said to me “IContinue reading “What To Do at the End of the World”
Talents or Seeds?
Matthew 25:12-30 I was speaking with another preacher this week and he mentioned that this week’s parable is the perfect opportunity for a stewardship sermon. I think most lifelong churchgoers will know what he meant by that, a sermon specifically reflecting on financial stewardship, even more specifically the money we share with our worshipping community.Continue reading “Talents or Seeds?”
Mother A Writes 