Be Like Carson
Photo from Wikimedia Commons Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 Psalm 50:1-8, 23-24 Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Luke 12:32-40 I confess that I’m a Downtown Abbey fan. I got quite caught up in the Crawley’s comings and goings, and enjoyed it even more the second time I watched it. I’m really looking forward to the film coming out next month. Today’s gospel reading makes me think of Carson. The lord goes off to a wedding feast (and in those days, weddings took several days…
Being Christ
Photo by Annie Bolin @unsplash.com Hosea 11:1-11 Colossians 3:1-11 Luke 12:13-21 When I first saw the headline this morning I thought they had revised the death count from the shooting in El Paso yesterday, then I realized. Another shooting, this time in Dayton, Ohio. Both hard on the heels of the tragedy in Gilroy last Sunday. There are no words for the pain and anguish the families of the victims are experiencing today. And the sadness of a culture where…
Ask and it shall be given…
Photo by Michael Heuss unsplash.com Hosea 1:2-10 Psalm 85 Colossians 2:6-15, (16-19) Luke 11:1-13 I imagine that quite a few of you had a hard time with that first reading from the prophet Hosea! Our First Testament readings during the season of Pentecost this year give us a quick tour of the prophets. We started in the 9th century Before the Common Era – that’s 2900 years ago – with stories of Elijah and Elisha. Now we’ve moved up a…
Who is my neighbor?
Photo by Eddie Perez Amos 7:7-17 Luke 10:25-37 Don’t you love this story of the Good Samaritan? It’s one of Jesus’ best, so easy to understand and to visualize. The man whose been mugged and the religious folk who don’t want to take the risk or the time to help him. Then the Samaritan, someone who Jews looked down on, is willing to do what it takes to help someone – even a Jew – in need. The Samaritans lived…
Peace be with you
Photo by Patrick Fore @unsplash.com Luke 10:1-11, 16-20 You have probably heard that St. Francis said, “Preach the gospel at all times and when necessary use words.” This is very convenient for those of us who are shy or those of us who find it difficult to articulate our faith, or who don’t want to appear pushy. We want the way we live to be enough, so that we can get away without actually admitting that we are Christians, without…
What’s Stopping You?
Galatians 5:1,13-25 Luke 9:51-62 Last week we identified two important questions, “What is your name?” and “What are you doing here” Building on those two questions “What is your name?” and “What are you doing here?” I asked you what your special name from God might be. Maybe God calls you “Crazy Brave”, “One with the sunset, “She who cooks open hearts” or “Greatly Loved.” Today we have a new question to consider. What is stopping you? What is stopping…
God’s Name for You
God’s Name for You 1 Kings 19:1-4, (5-7), 8-15a Psalm 42 and 43 Galatians 3:23-29 Luke 8:26-39 Today’s gospel reading raises as many questions as it answers. Questions like what happened to all the pig corpses? What about the livelihood of the pig farmers? does God hate pigs? and the more complex – if the demons went into the pigs rather than the abyss and then the pigs committed suicide – what happened to the demons? do demons drown? I…
Go!
Acts 2:1-21 John 14:8-17, (25-27) It’s always a little tricky doing a sermon series as we have been during Eastertide, because you never know whether the readings for the day will help or hinder your theme. Today they mesh perfectly because we have reached Go on the sevenfold Way of Love. In addition to each of the seven movements being inter-related, Turn and Learn form a pair as do Prayer and Worship, and now Bless and Go. Last week Barry…
The Blessing of Christ
Acts 1:1-11 Ephesians 1:15-23 Luke 24:44-53