October 13, 2019
At one point on Wednesday, I checked to see how close we were to the full moon. I had several conversations with people who were anxious, and their anxiety was affecting their ability to express themselves clearly—and their ability to listen. They were caught up in their own narrative and couldn’t—or wouldn’t—open themselves to what…
October 6, 2019
October 6, 2019 Propers 22C Those of you familiar with Psalm 137 will notice that I left out verse nine. And if you are familiar with this psalm, you probably know why. I was not going to ask any of you to say those horrifying, violent words in the context of a worship service, even…
September 29, 2019 St. Michael and All Angels
Imagine I came to you and told you the following story. I was out in a remote place, and I saw a windstorm coming from the north, an immense cloud full of lightening, surrounded by light. The center of the cloud glows with four living creatures, that look a little like human beings, but each…
September 22, 2019
On Tuesday morning, as I drove into town, there was a huge cluster of cars and trucks by one house on my road. The driveway was overfull, cars lined the street 25 feet or more in either direction. I wondered at it, but not for long. Later, Don Tikander mentioned seeing it on Facebook, only…
September 15, 2019
On Wednesday morning, as we read these passages, I commented after the psalm, “Well now, aren’t THOSE just the most cheerful readings we’ve had in a while!” Destruction, despair, fools declaring there is no God and the consequences they’ll face…yikes. The epistle reading and the gospel brightened things up a little, but the harshness of…
September 8, 2019
Oh the riches available to me in today’s reading choices! It’s one of those rare times I would like to be a pastor who can preach for 45 minutes, just to say everything I want to about all these readings…okay, everybody relax, I’m not going to preach for that long. I have to make a…
July 28, 2019
How many of you are familiar with the Mitford series by Jan Karon? She writes about an Episcopal priest, Fr. Tim Kavanaugh, and the sleepy little town where he ministers. I have mixed feelings about the books; they have a lovely sweetness and innocence to them—but they are also an expression of the author’s displeasure…
July 21, 2019
For many years I offered congregations a workshop on the topic of “hospitality” within the church. The first story you heard this morning, about Abraham welcoming these three travelers to his encampment, was one of my favorite Bible stories to share. It reflects the culture of the Ancient Near East, where you offered shelter and…
July 14, 2019
In today’s gospel reading we hear someone ask Jesus two questions. It occurred to me this week that our traditional interpretation of the parable of the Good Samaritan makes a really good answer to the first question. But that’s not the one Jesus was addressing with that particular parable… This man who approaches Jesus is…
June 30, 2019
“My boundaries enclose a pleasant land, indeed I have a goodly heritage/rich inheritance.” I discovered this verse nearly twenty years ago, when I was in Clinical Pastoral Education at St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center, a hospital affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church in Brighton, MA. This is a chaplaincy training program, required by most denominations in…
