Matthew 2:1-12 When I was a teenager, I was cast one year as one of the three wise men along with two of my classmates. We had all aged out of being sheep and shepherds and angels, and we weren’t quite old enough yet to play Mary or Joseph or the angel Gabriel, although byContinue reading “For All People”
Tag Archives: sermons
The Doubting Prophet
Matthew 11:2-11 John the Baptist leapt in his mother’s womb in recognition of the miracle Mary carried. John the Baptist left behind his comfortable birthright for a short life of locusts and wild honey and persecution. John the Baptist was the voice crying out in the wilderness even when his voice grew hoarse and theContinue reading “The Doubting Prophet”
Wake Up!
This sermon was given at St Peter Baptist Church in Clifford, VA, by invitation of their board of deacons. The people of St Mark’s Episcopal Church worship with the people of St Peter four times a year as we have done for over a decade. “You know what time it is, how it is nowContinue reading “Wake Up!”
Happy New Year
Luke 23:33-43 I was reminded by a mentor from my fellowship this week that today is the New Year’s Eve of the church calendar, a threshold between the year behind us and the new year ahead of us. This is the last Sunday of Year C, and next week on Advent 1 we begin theContinue reading “Happy New Year”
Say Yes
2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 This sermon references a project by Nikalie Monroe (@nikalie.monroe). Nikalie’s project is controversial, and there are important nuances that are sometimes missing from the conversation when it is happening separately in silos of “church people” and “unchurched people”. I find Anne Helen Petersen’s article for her newsletter Culture Study to be aContinue reading “Say Yes”
What Resurrection Feels Like
Luke 20:27-38 As I return to you from the holy and devastating work of mourning a young person gone too soon, I’m clinging to the promise of the resurrection like a life raft far from shore. I have said before that I have no choice but to believe in the resurrection of the dead, becauseContinue reading “What Resurrection Feels Like”
It’s a Beautiful Day to Yell at God.
Luke 18:1-8 A friend of mine recently shared an image with me of an abstract scene in which three figures are shaking their fists at the sky and shouting expletives toward the sun. The caption read “It’s a Beautiful Day to Yell at God.” Among other phrases, one figure cries out “Face us you coward!”Continue reading “It’s a Beautiful Day to Yell at God.”
Let us pray
Luke 17:11-19 I am indebted this week to Mary Karr and Anne Lamott, both of whom have done much to shape my own prayer life. The essay by Mary Karr that is referenced here is “Facing Altars: Poetry and Prayer” found in the journal Poetry. Anne Lamott’s book Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential PrayersContinue reading “Let us pray”
Recognizing Heaven
Luke 12:13-21 Robin Wall Kimmerer, indigenous botanist and author of Braiding Sweetgrass, recounts several traditional stories of her people that have been used for generations to teach important lessons and pass on cultural values. Many of the stories feature Nanabozho, the teacher in the Anishinaabe cosmology, as a central figure whose choices illustrate lessons aboutContinue reading “Recognizing Heaven”
This Is The Hard Part
Acts 2:1-21 Last Sunday marked four years of ministry together, for me and you, and for the partnership between our two parishes in an official capacity. It marked four years of ministry for Ben at St John’s, and it’s been a little over four years since we moved into our home in downtown Lynchburg withContinue reading “This Is The Hard Part”
Mother A Writes 