Sermon Archive (Page 17)

Where is he?

Isaiah 25:6-9 Acts 10:34-43 John 20:1-18 It’s interesting how each of the four gospels tells a slightly different story of the disciples discovering the resurrection; but in every one it is the women who go early in the morning, even before dawn, to the tomb. In two of the gospels they take spices with them – spices because Jesus body had been hurriedly laid in the tomb as the sabbath was fast approaching. They planned to properly anoint his body…

Sin In Our Favor

Last week while on retreat, I read several books. One of them was Falling Upwards by Richard Rohr. In it he says among many other things that “salvation is sin turned on its head and used in our favor.” Salvation is sin turned on its head and used in our favor. That is what we are remembering today – the ultimate example of sin turned on its head and used in our favor. On the cross Jesus took the sin…

Impatient: 3/14/21

The people became impatient. I don’t know about you but I have certainly become impatient. It’s been a year. Enough already. How much longer will be in this wilderness of Zoom? How much longer before we can once again gather safely indoors to share the eucharist? I don’t know the answers to those questions. I have become impatient. The poisonous snakes have been biting for a year and we are still looking and waiting for God to deliver us. And…

“Wiser is Humbler” – Rev Mike Eggleston at St Benedict’s 

I Corinthians 1.18-25 Guidance from God can be found anywhere, because God is everywhere.  Me, I most often get insights from God either through nature or through scriptures and church tradition.  That’s good because those two, nature and torah, are the two forums of God which are praised in Psalm 19.  “The heavens are telling the glory of God, and the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple.”  But the start of this sermon comes from a…

Radical Acceptance

Mark 8:31-38 I admit it. I’m mortal. Just like all of us. And that of course is the reminder of Ash Wednesday, that we are entirely dependent on God for every breath we take. And just in case we missed it on Ash Wednesday with this year’s self-service ashes, the loss of our beloved sister Karin this week brought it home powerfully. We are mortal. We are not gods. We are humans.  And so it’s not surprising that we see…

Sacred Water

Genesis 9:8-17 1 Peter 3:18-22 Mark 1:9-15 I’m sure that you, like me, have been praying for the people of Texas this week and for the other southern states hit by freezing temperatures. It is appalling to imagine having no power for days in the middle of a powerful freeze, and then to lose water. Looking at the news this morning I see that over 14million people are still without safe water. The problem is not restricted to Texas – …

Transfiguration – 2/14/21

Two weeks ago, I talked about Dimension 5+ and how we can no more imagine what it is like to live outside of the space/time continuum than a fish can imagine living out of water. Both mean death, death to life as we, or the fish, know it. But we get glimpses. We get glimpses of a different reality – a reality we call heaven where the reign of God is 100% realized. Today’s gospel reading shows Jesus and the…

Treated as a Person The Rev. Susan Plucker

5th Sunday After Epiphany February 7, 2021 Isaiah 40:21-31 Psalm 147: 1-12,  21c 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39 Let us begin by hearing the voice of Mary Magdalene.   Seven demons possessed my soul Seven Marys lived inside of me One Mary was chaste, another carnal, A Mary elated, a Mary tormented, A frightened Mary, a lone one, And one that hated God.   I stood on the hill throughout the day. Watching the procession to Golgotha Seeing the crosses…