teaching
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Wishing to See
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6 min read
Learning in the absence of Jesus Lent 5B | John 12:20-33 Wishing to See “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” It is a deceptively simple moment. We’d almost overlook it. These people come to Philip looking for Jesus. Philip goes to Andrew and they both go to Jesus. “Sir, we wish to see Jesus,” they…
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What you don’t understand about Sacraments
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6 min read
The old argument goes children need to understand the sacrament before they receive it. I am still surprised to hear this. As a priest, I hear it from people of all sorts. When they do suggest such a thing to me, I simply ask them Even after they were baptized as infants? The look I…
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What does Jesus communicate?
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4 min read
I have this feeling that we all live with a paradox about Jesus. On the one hand, we feel confident, every one of us, that we could actually answer that question What Would Jesus Do? And, at the same time, when pressed on what Jesus’s most important message is, we shuffle our feet, look at…
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The Michigan Militia It was the late 90’s and several militia groups, most famously the “Michigan Militia” had bloomed in the thumb-area of Michigan, just down the road from my college. The populist rage that would a decade later birth the Birthers and the Tea Party was a post-Waco response to a perceived lack of…
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On the Mountainside
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6 min read
a Sermon for Epiphany 5A Text: Matthew 5:13-20 Going up the mountain Jesus begins walking up a mountain. He invites His disciples to join Him. Finding Jesus up a mountain. We would be hard-pressed to avoid that image here of the holy man and a mountain-top experience. We’ve seen this in books and movies: people…
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Asking/Responding
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6 min read
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…