Baptism
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Love Divided
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6 min read
a homily for Proper 15C Text: Luke 12:49-56 A stressed-out Jesus Stress is popping out of Jesus in this text. As much as He may be trying to contain it, He can’t keep it all in. This that He is doing, this baptism of fire, is stressing Him out. He seems to be coming unhinged.…
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Not Gatekeepers, but Gateopeners
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3 min read
There, squirming in such a comfortable chair, made to feel prickly by the moment and its intensity and not the leather or the cushion, it is not my ass, but my brain that is jittery. As a priest, interviews are a whole different beast. This moment, as I recall was the most agonizing for what…
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Choosing Sacraments
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4 min read
[This is the third of three posts about the sacraments. Click the links to read the first about the sacraments and the second about their messy history.] If you recall, a sacrament is the “outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by which we receive…
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The Messy History of the Sacraments in 6 Questions
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5 min read
[This is the second of three posts about the sacraments. Check out the first and the third.] As we explored yesterday, our Sacraments, primarily Holy Eucharist and Holy Baptism, are a physical and spiritual means of receiving grace. Today, we’ll have a small taste of the messiness around the living out of the Sacraments. There is…
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What is a Sacrament?
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3 min read
[This is the first of three posts about the sacraments. Check out the second and third.] What do we mean when we call something a Sacrament? According to the Book of Common Prayer (pp. 857-8): The sacraments are outward and visible signs of inward and spiritual grace, given by Christ as sure and certain means by…
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Our Quarantine
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6 min read
a Sermon for Lent 1C Text: Luke 4:1-13 Quarantine In the ancient Middle East, there was a traditional custom of a Sabbath Quarantine. One would go out into the desert for an extended time. Imagine. The sand swirling about you, sneaks into your clothes, your hair, your teeth. You would soon feel dirty and uncomfortable.…