Jesus Wept
John 11:1-45 Personally, I have two favorite bible verses that I would like to share with you. Through the years, I have found that these two verses have the ability to either give me goosebumps or make me to tear up, or actually sometimes, cause me to do both. The first of the two we heard last year, year “C” in our Episcopal Lectionary. The verse comes from Luke in his account of the Passion of Christ. Two thieves are…
The Light and Its Shadow
John 9:1-41 In the last hundred years a myth has arisen. That myth tells us that there is only one way to read the Bible. Yet as far back as the 2nd century, the Greek scholar and Christian theologian Origen claimed that scriptures should be read in three different allegorical ways. I mention that this morning, because today’s lengthy gospel passage can be read on several different levels and I am considering two – the surface or literal level and…
Slow Church Part 2: Stability and Patience
Today I am continuing my sermon series based on the book, The Slow Church. You will remember from last month that the idea of Slow Church comes from the slow food movement that seeks to create locally sourced sustainable food grown and prepared by identifiable growers and chefs in contrast with the sameness of fast food. Today I am reflecting on both Stability and Patience. We are familiar with the idea of stability from the Rule of St Benedict. Benedictine…
Remembering Mary Elizabeth
In 2007, I had the opportunity to go to Dar es Salaam to report on a meeting of the Archbishops of the Anglican Communion. But our dog Alice had lived for several months with a debilitating illness, and my spouse was afraid that if I left, Alice would die. Sure enough, as soon as I had my bags packed and was out the door, Alice turned her head to the wall and refused to eat. It was clear that we…
Terroir – the flavor of St. Ben’s
This year is our 30th anniversary, and we are considering it to be a year of celebration and discernment. For more than seventeen years we have been working to build a church which can provide a physical home for the worship and service of God and our community. Now that is pretty much complete, and we have a plan for how we will continue to develop our facilities as we have the time, money and inclination. So what next? It…
EXPLORER, CONNECTOR OR PROBLEM SOLVER
1 CORINTHIANS 3: 1-9 Holy One, let my words be clear to those who listen to them as they come from my heart. In the name of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Hey, check out the palace on the top of hill—what a view! We are fortunate to have a roof over our heads when there are so many sleeping in the streets. And look what’s out in front of that palace. …
Prophets of Today
If I were to offer you a packet of peanuts, how many of you would prefer plain rather than salted? And how many of you would prefer salted? Now imagine that the salt had lost its taste – the salted ones would be slightly gritty; I think I’d rather have the plain. And Jesus says that we are the ones who make the difference. We are the ones who put the saltiness in the flavor and make the world a…
Our Calling
Fishing on the Sea of Galilee was not a great job. It was dangerous, with the sudden storms that swept upon the lake. And it didn’t bring in much money. Fishing was big business, but unlike the captains here in Morro Bay, the fishermen were not entrepreneurs. They were at the bottom of a rigid hierarchy, and got to keep very little of what they caught. Fishermen had to have licenses to fish the waters as well as provide most…
A Time of Change – A Pre-Inauguration Sermon
Tomorrow is a big day. For some of us it is a time of rejoicing, for others a time of sadness. For all of us it is a time of change. After 8 years of consistent leadership we are going into the unknown. It was a risk, eight years ago, to elect a young, relatively unknown black, President; a risk that paid off for many but not all. It is a risk again this year to have elected a President…