Sermons by Rev. Dr. Caroline Hall (Page 15)
Storm
Luke 8:22-25 One summer Jill and I and a friend chartered a small sailing boat to explore part of Alaska. It was very small – there were two berths both big enough for two very close friends. We had one, our friend the other. The crew somehow slept on the table in the cabin. It was a good week and on the last day we were headed back to Juneau for a night in a real bed before flying out…
Staying Grounded in a Time of Climate Crisis
Last year our Earthcare group asked Bishop Mary how we might encourage other churches to get more involved with Creation Care, and she suggested that we organize a conference for the diocese. That conference happened yesterday in Salinas, and for the last week we have been hosting the keynote speaker, Margaret Bullitt-Jonas. Margaret, who has been a long time climate activist, is Missioner for Creation Care for the Diocese of Western Massachusetts. During this week on the Central Coast she…
Humility
When we think about St Benedict and his Rule or Way of Life, most of us think about balance or moderation or hospitality. Yet his longest chapter was about humility. In fact, he lists 12 steps of humility. Some of them are not immediately useful for us today, such as the one that says we should speak only when necessary and without laughter – after all we often associate gentle laughter with holiness; or the one that says that humility…
Boundary Crossing
Photo by Max Bohme on unsplash.com A few weeks ago, a friend of mine was talking about some of the choices he is making in his life and he told me, “Right now I’m self-absorbed in my spirituality.” “Right now I’m self-absorbed in my spirituality.” I’m going to leave you with that thought for a moment while I talk about the second reading this morning, the one from the Letter to the Hebrews. It’s a pretty confusing reading because we…
The peace of God is not peace
Photo by Faye Cornish @unsplash.com Isaiah 5:1-7 Luke 12:49-56 Sometimes I hear an Old Testament reading – like the one we heard today or the one we had a few weeks ago where Hosea was told to take a “wife of whoredom “ – and I wish we could skip all that and just listen to Jesus. But then we get to gospel passages like this one. Jesus is not having a good day. He is looking ahead to his…
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…
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…