Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31; Psalm 8; John 16:12-15 This Thursday marks the 10th anniversary of my ordination to the transitional diaconate—when I was first given the honorific of “The Reverend,” and passed a very important milestone in my vocation. Now, make no mistake, I was in the Church business a lot longer than that—I started study […]

Colossians 3:1-11; Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Luke 12:13-21 Have you ever been misunderstood? Have you ever come to realize that your words or actions have been completely misconstrued? In today’s world, it seems like it is the norm for folks to interpret the same event in very different ways—and to have widely varying opinions about what’s […]

Song of Solomon 2:8-13; Psalm 45:1-2, 7-10; Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23 Yesterday morning Don and I watched John McCain’s memorial service, live from the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. It was full of meaning as only an Episcopal funeral can be: The stunning and poetic words of The Book of Common Prayer, the beauty of […]

1 Kings 8:22-30, 41-43; Psalm 84; John 6:56-69 As we return one more time to the sixth chapter of John, once again the sermon topic is bread. One gospel commentator has said that, “John’s gospel is noted not only for its poetry, its high Christology and its rich metaphorical imagery, but also for its redundancy.”[i] […]

1 Kings 2:10-12,3:3-14; Psalm 111; John 6:51-58 [First instruction, after any opening remarks of the celebrant and just before the service begins[i]:] When most Episcopalians gather for public worship on a Sunday, we have a service of Communion, also known as the celebration of the Holy Eucharist. We do this because this is the way […]

2 Samuel 18:5-9, 15, 31-33; Psalm 130; John 6:35, 41-51 This morning we continue our journey in the sixth chapter of John and our exploration of the Eucharist. It is interesting to note the unusual way this morning’s gospel reading begins: It repeats the final verse of last week’s reading. Of course, that’s because this […]

2 Samuel 11:26-12:13a; Psalm 51:1-13; John 6:24-35 As most of you know, I love musical theater. One of the greatest joys of our nine years in New York City was being only a short subway ride away from Broadway. I still do my best to see as many musicals as possible. Today I am thinking […]

2 Samuel 11:1-15; Psalm 14; John 6:1-21 True Confession Time: Preaching is not easy – not the actual preaching, but figuring out what to say:What do the scriptures say about what is going on in our world, and/or in the life of St. Paul’s? This puzzle is complicated by the fact that the scriptures are […]

2 Samuel 7:1-14a; Psalm 89:20-37; Mark 6:30-34, 53-56 Have you ever been so tired that all you can think to do is curl up and go to sleep? That feeling where very fiber of your being is working toward getting that rest, and anything that gets in the way seems much more insurmountable than it […]

2 Samuel 5:1-5,9-10; Psalm 48; Mark 6:1-13 As you may be aware, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church is currently underway. This is our church’s primary governing body, which meets once every three years. Created at about the same time as our national government, it is a bicameral legislature—the House of Bishops, which is […]