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Someone untimely born
Toward the end of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, he wrote something that sounds a lot like this: I’ve given you something really, really important, maybe the most important thing that I’ve learned: Christ died because we sin. He was buried. Two days later he was brought to life like it says in our Hebrew…
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Acting like we love Jesus
a Sermon for Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle Text: Matthew 10:16-22 Sacrifice In the years after Jesus died, his closest followers passed on stories about Him. They gathered, started new faith communities, worshiped, sang. They prayed for the Kingdom. They called out to GOD. They taught their children to do the same. They told…
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Asking/Responding
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…
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Saul or Paul?
a Sermon for the Conversion of St. Paul the Apostle Text: Acts 26:9-21 From Saul to Paul In the story of the Conversion of Paul, we have perhaps the ultimate Christian example. Paul speaks of his old self, a conversion, and a transformation. Before he became Paul, he was Saul: a self-proclaimed zealot. He was…
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Section 2: Judgment–Tearing Down Mansions
This is the second of a tw0-part series covering David Rudel’s Who Really Goes To Hell?—The Gospel You’ve Never Heard. Rudel looks at how Scripture (The Bible) and our understanding of GOD’s purpose and of Jesus (The Gospel) intersect and where they diverge. My introduction can be found here and Section 1 is here. In…
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Section 1: Questing—Seeking and Finding
This is the first of a three-part series covering David Rudel’s Who Really Goes To Hell?—The Gospel You’ve Never Heard. Rudel looks at how Scripture (The Bible) and our understanding of GOD’s purpose and of Jesus (The Gospel) intersect and where they diverge. My introduction can be found here. We often take it as a…
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into the wild
Though I’ve read the book by Jon Krakauer, this isn’t a book review, or even a direct allusion. But maybe it is. It seems as if we are bound to our domesticated life by shear will and determination. It is out in the wild that we actually yearn to live. Maybe its time we moved…
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Bartimaeus
This Sunday was my first opportunity to preach at my new parish. And what gospel do I get, but one of the deepest, most revealing stories in Mark–and therefore one of the most difficult. But in my wrestling with this pericope, something was awoken within me. Something that still has me wrestling. My homily wasn’t…