Drew Downs

Make a New Normal

God

  • a homily for Proper 29C Text: Luke 23:33-43 This is a potent ending to the church year. Jesus on the cross, mocked, brought low beside two criminals. A passage full of questions—like the questions we all bring with us to church. Questions about… Jesus—Who is He, what is He? What does He want? GOD—What is…

  • a homily for Proper 28C Text: Luke 21:5-19 Encountering Jesus’s Mission Jesus ends the teaching at the Temple and begins to leave with his closest followers by saying some pretty tough words. Listen: In the hearing of all the people he said to the disciples, “Beware of the scribes, who like to walk around in…

  • The church is failing our daughters and one thing can change that: we make their well-being a priority. Because right now, we aren’t. We claim love, diversity, equality, faith, commitment, responsibility, duty, honor, respect and so much more are our values, and we do a lot of good things. But what is our greatest priority?…

  • Of all the spiritual disciplines, I am quickly coming to the conclusion that this one is the most important: the discipline of breaking a fast. The foundation of the word discipline is in speaking of common order–and one’s relationship to order. When we speak of the church’s laws and principles, we refer to the “doctrine and discipline”…

  • a homily for Proper 24C Text: Luke 18:1-8 This parable contains two characters: a widow and a judge. We aren’t given the circumstances that bring this woman before a judge, but we are given enough clues. Or really, the only two clues that are necessary: that she is a widow and that she is seeking…

  • a homily for Proper 26C Text: Luke 19:1-10 It so often feels that gospels about money are tricky during Stewardship Season like this. We already hate to talk about money. Bringing up economics in a homily is a tricky enough proposition during the rest of the year. It sometimes feels as if the preacher is…