Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

Sermons

Sermons preached in a context, but written for people of all sorts and conditions.

  • Finding Abundance in Deserted Places

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    6 min read

    Our Part in the Feeding of the Multitudes The challenge of the story as we receive it is that we think its all about Jesus and His magic hands. The Eucharistic metaphor gets us thinking that for sure. But the story isn’t about reversing scarcity, but finding abundance in deserted places. a Homily for Proper 13 A Text: Matthew 14:13-21…

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  • Hiding the Kingdom

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    7 min read

    Jesus’s parables are dependent on seeing and understanding Proper 12A  |  Matthew 13:31-33,44-52 The Hiding At the beginning of this chapter, we’re told Jesus is so swarmed by people that He jumps into a boat to teach the crowds surrounding Him on the shore. There so many people He has to put a barrier up; to…

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  • The protagonist is Jesus, but the story is about the disciples

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    5 min read

    I love talking with my Dad about church. He’s a priest. I’m a priest. Both of us are very traditional in many ways; very untraditional in many ways. And the best part is that they don’t always match. I greatly appreciate the way we talk, argue, explore, wrestle with our mutual vocations. Our talk last night…

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  • There’s still hope – Jesus, the yoke, and all of that shouting!

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    6 min read

    a Homily for Proper 9 A Text: Matthew 11:16-19, 25-30   Dance, Puppet! “It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to one another” This is how Jesus speaks to “the current generation,” His generation. Returning from seeing John the Baptist who summoned Him, to question Him. John, asking Jesus of Nazareth: Are you…

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  • Welcoming is Loving

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    7 min read

    Why the word you want is proclaim, not communicate a Homily for Proper 8 A Text: Matthew 10:40-42 Getting into it I struggled with this text a lot. Way more than any text in months. You wouldn’t guess that three little verses would be so hard. And you certainly wouldn’t expect a lectionary text about welcoming…

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  • The Divine Household – Jesus, division, and a sword that cuts injustice

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    6 min read

    a Homily for Proper 7 A Text: Matthew 10:24-39 Jesus paints a picture of the divine household that appears frightening: talk of swords and a divided family. But it isn’t the household that frightens, but the realization that our homes aren’t the the true household.     Scripture’s many doors This morning’s part of the story…

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