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Love and Sacrifice
a Homily for Easter 6B Text: John 15:9-17 Last week’s Gospel pericope ended with verses 7 and 8 which read: If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and…
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He Truly Lived
a Homily for the Celebration of the Life of Fred Rouse Text: John 11:21-27 One of those curious things we deal with as Christians is that even though we believe in the resurrected Christ, we still fear death. In our own lives and to our loved ones. Despite all assurances to the contrary, death is…
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Twisting in Intimacy
a Homily for Easter 5B Text: John 15:1-8 One of the problems we face when we read the parables of Jesus is that many of them have a light side and a dark side. They often illustrate what will happen when we are right with God and when we aren’t. Our saving grace, most of…
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The one about the good shepherd
a Homily for Easter 4B Text: John 10:11-18 “I am the good shepherd,” Jesus says. What a great line. The good shepherd. Not at all like the badones, the ones that run away. Or don’t know anything about their sheep. A good shepherd. One that protects the flock. It is a message that speaks even to…
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Sharing the Story
a Homily for Easter 3B Text: Luke 24:36-48 Was it Real? This is our third Sunday in Easter and our third different resurrection story. We had Mark’s open-ending with Mary, Mary, and Salome running away in fear with instructions to bring the Good News to the rest of Jesus’s followers. We had John’s story of…
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Why I Don’t Preach Daily Living Sermons
If you’ve been around the church, you know there are many different genres of sermons. With names like “biblical” and “narrative,” we are often asked to classify and name our preaching style. My own style falls into several categories, but I’m pretty sure there is one it does not: the “daily living” sermon. I’ve been…
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Finding Proof in Baptism
a Sermon for Easter Text: Mark 16:1-8 This is the tough Easter gospel. The gospel we know as mark is the only one without joyous celebration and is perhaps a strange note to cast on a celebratory morning like this. These three women, Mary, Mary, and Salome come to the tomb expecting to prepare Jesus…
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The Unsatisfactory Ending
a Sermon for the Great Vigil of Easter Text: Mark 16:1-8 The Down Ending This may seem strange to you, but this gospel reading is by far my favorite text in Scripture. I absolutely love it. Let’s read the last two verses again: But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead…