Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16; Psalm 50:1-8, 23-24; Luke 12:32-40 Perhaps you’ve heard of Marie Kondo, the Japanese organizing consultant and writer. In books like The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and her Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo, she espouses the idea that we should always be cleaning and organizing, keeping only those things that […]

Colossians 3:1-11; Psalm 107:1-9, 43; Luke 12:13-21 As you know, we are in the midst of a community book read. The premise of David Brook’s The Second Mountain is that the common pattern in life is to become adult and begin climbing the mountain that we are expected to scale. Brooks says, “On the first […]

Colossians 2:6-15; Psalm 85; Luke 11:1-13 I wonder if you’ve noticed, that recently there has been a bit of a backlash against prayer. Well maybe not just against prayer, but certainly against “thoughts and prayers.” That’s the phrase that often gets used and a publicly notable event—politicians and celebrities offer their thoughts and prayers. It’s […]

Amos 7:7-17; Psalm 82; Luke 10:25-37 If you have paid any attention to the rhetoric of politicians these days (and if you haven’t, good for you – your blood pressure is undoubtedly lower than mine!), you have heard the term fake news. As I did a little research on this term (which for me has […]

2 Kings 5:1-14; Psalm 30; Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 Good morning! I am delighted that we are worshiping again in the church yard. There was a memorial service in the church yesterday—right before the heavens opened up with that big rain shower—and it was a steam bath in there. The temperatures and the humidity have gone […]

1 Kings 19:1-15a; Psalm 42; Luke 8:26-39 On June 28, 1969 the thermometer hit a high of 96 degrees in New York City. And it was not only hotter than usual; it was also humid. If you have been in the City on one of those uncomfortable summer days, you know it is unpleasant, and […]

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] […]