Sermons

The pattern is the same every year. We celebrate Easter and God’s victory over death in the resurrection of Jesus, the son of God. Then 50 days later we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to the disciples at Pentecost. And then the next Sunday, before we launch...

Today is the auspicious coming together of many different parts of church life. It is the day of Pentecost, one of the most festive days of the church year, as we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit to Jesus' original disciples and followers. Pentecost is often...

It is one of the oddest stories in the New Testament. In the last six weeks or so the disciples, the followers of Jesus, have seen him be betrayed by one of them. They've seen Jesus arrested, tortured, and executed. They've seen their despair turn into joy at the...

When I read today's gospel a man came to mind who I have not thought about in many years. Ernest was a fellow parishioner at St. Ann's in Nashville. He was a quiet, unobtrusive man, probably in his mid-80s. He had long been a member of that congregation and played an...

Of all the technological advances in the past couple of decades the one that I love the most is probably the GPS, whether in my car or on my phone. As the men with whom I've lived would tell you, I have a notoriously bad sense of direction.. So I take great joy in...

Every year the fourth Sunday of the Easter season is known as Good Shepherd Sunday. It’s easy to see why. Three out of four of our scripture readings today have images of sheep and shepherds. The shepherd, or more accurately the good shepherd, is one of our most...

It is so wonderful to be here with you this glorious morning. So many people have worked hard to create the beauty of this service - and the three others that preceded it this week. The altar guild has been busy polishing silver, ironing linens, and preparing our...

Dear friends in Christ: On this most holy night, in which our Lord Jesus passed over from death to life, the Church invites her members, dispersed throughout the world, to gather in vigil and prayer. For this is the Passover of the Lord, in which, by hearing God’s...

"I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." These are the words that Jesus said to his disciples on the last night of his life. Love one another. Jesus was a man...

"Sir, we wish to see Jesus." That was the request of some Greeks who were visiting a festival in Jerusalem, or someplace close by. They ask this of one of Jesus' disciples, Philip, who tells his friend Andrew. The two of them go to Jesus with the request. I've read...

Sunday morning has a language all its own, full of words that we seldom, if ever, use other times of the week. Words like repentance, righteousness, grace, incarnation. Words that I suspect we  would be hard pressed to easily define. Sometimes the strange...

Every year during Lent we begin our service with a version of the Ten Commandments, either the full reading of them as we did today, or a condensed  version of what Jesus calls the two greatest commandments – to love God and to love your neighbor. The...

Today's service is a little bit different from what we would normally do on the Second Sunday in Lent. As you know, this week our parishioner David Abner died after a stay in hospice. David's children preferred not to have a formal funeral for their father, but will...

The story of the rainbow is a curious reading for the first Sunday in Lent. We are at the beginning of the most somber season of the church year, a time set aside for reflection and repentance, for fasting and self-denial. We began the service today with the Great...

Today is the last Sunday of the season of Epiphany, those weeks between Christmas and the beginning of Lent.   Epiphany ends every year with the reading we heard today, the story of the Transfiguration – the ultimate mountaintop experience where Jesus meets...