Luke 16:19-31 “If you’re talking about the afterlife, you’re missing the point.” In my preparations for this week’s sermon I listened to a sermon podcast that Ben likes to reach for, and this phrase from the episode on Lazarus and the rich man has really stuck with me. If I’m talking about the afterlife inContinue reading “Tearing Down the Gate”
Tag Archives: ordinary time
Finding the Right Answer
Luke 16:1-13 The parable of the dishonest manager, as our Gospel lesson from Luke this week is known, is one of the most hotly contested and opaque passages in the New Testament. Since the earliest days of the church, Christian scholars and believers alike have puzzled over this strange story from the mouth of Jesus.Continue reading “Finding the Right Answer”
Stories Jesus Told
Luke 15:1-10 The stories we tell our children shape them, and us, and pour the foundation upon which a life is built. Those stories include stories out of picture books and Bibles, movies and television, family history and the day’s news. Growing up as the daughter of an educator, I had the great privilege ofContinue reading “Stories Jesus Told”
Worth the Cost
Luke 14:25-33 “Whoever comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and even life itself, cannot be my disciple.” It’s not the only time Jesus says something like this in the Gospels, but it is maybe the most direct. I once led a Bible Study withContinue reading “Worth the Cost”
Surrounded by Hope
Hebrews 11:29-12:2 A dear friend and colleague of mine often recounts the story of a beloved parish elder, a matriarch that has been a part of his congregation for her entire long life. They were speaking about the vastness of the church they both love, a large downtown parish that could comfortably hold our entireContinue reading “Surrounded by Hope”
Delight
Luke 12:32-40 As I’ve shared with some of you over the past few months, I am trying my hand at gardening. I know that my efforts are quaint; a small four by four raised bed in my backyard has nothing on the beautiful farms and gardens so many of you keep. My little garden doesContinue reading “Delight”
You won’t need that where we’re going.
Luke 9:51-62 The Jesus we meet this morning has a difficult teaching for us, one that triggers disbelief, defensiveness, and disagreement in most hearers. He’s rebuking his friends for trying to stick up for him, he’s answering confessions of faith by comparing himself to wild animals, and he’s challenging those who give seemingly valid reasonsContinue reading “You won’t need that where we’re going.”
In the Valley, Do Not Lose Heart.
Luke 9:28-36, [37-43a] This is a difficult time to write a sermon. The legal and social services systems are being weaponized against trans youth and their families. War and violence are very real and very present for the people of Ukraine and Russia, and the ways this conflict is being discussed in the media areContinue reading “In the Valley, Do Not Lose Heart.”
What Love lives like.
Luke 6:27-38 As some of you may know, there has been a recent addition to the campus of Grace Episcopal Church in Massies Mill. If you happen to be driving down Crabtree Falls Highway toward the mountains, you’ll be greeted by an installation made up of apple crates, a tractor wheel, a bent fender, andContinue reading “What Love lives like.”
One Body, Many Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:12-31a Just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. The metaphor of Christ’s body made up of each and every one of us is one of Paul’s most loved images, and continues to speakContinue reading “One Body, Many Gifts”
Mother A Writes 