Here are some of my Columns written in The Sunday Bulletin, and Sermons which people have asked me to share:
Sundays 2007-08 (Year A)
Advent 1-A: Mt 24:36-44: Keep Aware, for You
Do Not Know at What Hour the Lord is Coming
Advent 2-A: Mt. 3:1-12: "His Delight Will
Be in the Fear of the Lord"
Advent 3-A: Mt 11:2-11: "To Whom Do You Listen?"
Advent 3-A: Mt 11:23-11: "A highway called the Holy
Way" (2007)
Advent 4-A: Mt. 1:18-25: "They
shall name him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us’” (Mt 1:23; Is 7:14)
Epiphany: Mt 2:1-12: "Arise, shine; for your
light has come" (Is 60:1)
Ash Wednesday: Mt 6:1-6, 19-21: "Your
Father who sees in secret will reward you"
Lent 1-A Column: Mt. 4:1-11: "Repent and Believe
the Good News"
Lent 3-A: Jn 4:5-42 "We have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ…” (Rm 5:1))
Lent 5-A: Jn 11:1-44: "Unbind him and let him go free"
(Jn 11:44)
Palm Sunday: Mt 26:14--27:66 "Tell us if you
are the Messiah" (Mt 26.63)
Easter 2A: Jn 20:19-31 "We have seen the Lord"
(Jn 20:25)
Easter 3-A: Lk 24:13-35: "Then their eyes were
opened, and they recognized him" (Lk 24:31)
Easter 4-A: Jn 10:1-10 "They follow Him for they
know his voice" (Jn 10:4)
Easter 5-A: Jn 14:1-14: “Do you not
believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?” (Jn 14:10)
Easter 7-A: Jn 17:1-11: "“How do I know Jesus is truly risen? Where
do I encounter the risen Lord in my life today?”
Trinity Sunday A: Mt 28:16-20: "Teaching
them to observe all that I have commanded you"
Proper 3A: Mt. 6:24-34: "Is not life more
than food, and the body more than clothing?” (Mt 6:25).
Proper 4A: Mt 7:21-29: ""Are we wise of
foolish?" (Mt. 7:24ff)
Proper 5A: Mt. 9:9-13, 18-26: "Your faith has
made your well" (Mt. 9:22)
Proper 7A: Mt. 10:24-39: “So do not be
afraid; you are of more value than sparrows” (Mt 10:31)
Proper 8-A: Mt. 10:40-42: “Whoever welcomes
you, welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me, welcomes the one who sent me.” (Mt
10:40)
Proper 12A: Mt 13:31-33, 44-52: "The
kingdom of heaven is like..." (Mt 13:31).
Proper 13A: Mt 14:13-21: "You give them
something to eat" (Mt 14:16)
Proper 14A: Mt 14:22-33: "You of little
faith, why did you doubt?" (Mt 14:31)
Proper 16A: Mt 16:13-20) "Who do you say
that I am? (Mt 16:15)
Proper 19A: Mt 18:21-35: "Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us" (BCP 364;Mt 6:12).
Proper 20A: Mt. 20:1-16 "Is your eye evil
because I am good?" (Mt. 20:15)
Proper 21-A: Mt. 21:23-32: ""Let the same mind
be in you as was in Christ Jesus" (Phil 2:5)
Columns
Re the Bible:
"What
is the Bible?" (Bible #101 No. 1. Some basic information about the Bible. What is it? How
many books? Translations?)
"Why
Read the Bible?" ([Bible 101 #3] Why read the Bible if it is a human creation of people
struggling with what God is doing in their midst?)
"Gay
Marriage and the Bible" (Bible 101 #4) (Should civil and constitutional
legislation be based on principles in the Bible? Taken out of context, such
Bible verses would radically change American life, and few would want those
changes.)
"Translations" (Further information as an introduction to the Bible, including
differences between old manuscripts.)
"The
Torah or Teaching" (Another Bible #101 series about the first five
books of the Hebrew Scriptures, which we call the Old Testament.)
"Visions
in the Bible" (There are many visions in the Scriptures which give us
an image of the way life ought to be if we would only live faithful to God's
call to us.)
Jonah
and the Whale (This is a great story, but what does it say to us? I think it
says much, and it goes along with the narrative of Jesus walking on water and
Peter's response presented in Matthew's Gospel.)
Re Coming to St Mark's Church:
"Coming
to Church" (First
of a series about the design of the new St. Mark's Church.)
"Entering
the 'Basilica'" (The second in a series about the design of the new St.
Mark's Church.)
"Our
Patronal Feastday" (Some notes about the history of old St. Mark's
Church in Paw Paw on the Feast of St. Mark.)
"Come
and See..." Can Anything Good Come out of Church? (What
difference in your life and mine does regular participation in worship and the
life of a parish make?)
"Never
Invite Anyone to Church If...."
(Can
anything good come out of the Church today? Can I really experience something
which will change my life for the better?)
"A
New Church, A New Start" (A discussion of why we come to Church and in
particular this church.)
Re Baptism and Life as a Disciple:
"Called
to be a Disciple) (The call to follow Jesus means first of all to answer the
call to live, and then the call to live in a certain way, a way that invites
others to come to know Christ as well.)
"God's
Beloved Son or Daughter" (God claims us in Holy Baptism as God's beloved - what a gift! Would that we
could daily see ourselves as God's beloved!)
"The
Waters of Baptism" (We are washed clean of
the foul message about our worth which is told to us again and again in our
culture today.)
"Bearing
Fruit" (What in specific does the New Testament say about what it would
mean to live lives faithful to the teachings of Jesus?)
"A
Rule of Life-1" (Part 1: What do I need to grow as a disciple of Jesus? How do I
learn to walk in the path that the good Lord would have me tread? What are good
personal discipleship habits?)
"A
Rule of Life-2" (What external practices will help me see the hand of
God at work in my life?)
"Is
Your Relationship with the Risen Lord Infantile or Childlike?"
(We are taught by the good Lord
to be childlike in our faith, and be servants of one another. What does that
look like in specific? How do we move from the "house of fear" to the
"house of love"?)
"What
must I do?" (The rich man asked
Jesus this question, and it means for us as well, what must I do to inherit the
promises of God, the peace of God which surpasses all understanding?)
"Your
Faith Has Saved You" (These words
to Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, are spoken to us as well. We too need to ask
that we might see the central focus of our faith and not the current
controversies that swirl around in the Church.) (These words
to Bartimaeus, the blind beggar, are spoken to us as well. We too need to ask
that we might see the central focus of our faith and not the current
controversies that swirl around in the Church.)
"Proclaiming
the Message" (A column about what it is that we proclaim and why
this is Good News - and it is not words!)
"A
Mountain Top Experience" (Why can't we live on the mountain top? Can
every Sunday be a tremendously moving worship experience?)
"What a Story!"
(We
often miss the full impact of the parable of the Good Samaritan because we do
not hear it in contemporary terms, like Bubba and the Black man.)
"Coping
with Abundance." (We are possessed by our possessions and the Good Lord
would set us free of that obsession if we will but learn to set our financial
house in order, which includes tithing and giving alms.)
"Repent
and Believe" (What is sin? Why do we need to repent? This is another
Lenten meditation, and it has surprises for those who think of sin in
traditional terms.)
"Resting
in Prayer - Sabbath Rest" (We all desire some
time away from it all, but it is much more serious than that. It is an
opportunity for significant growth within.)
Re 9/11 & Terrorism:
"Sentinels
for God?" (Do
we have a moral right to initiate war with Iraq? On what grounds? How do we as
Christians and as citizens respond to this campaign of fear being presented to
us as a result of the terrorist attacks of 9/11?)
"Has
the End Time Arrived?" (A sermon preached on the first Sunday of Advent
right after September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Includes a critic of the Left
Behind series and the origin of end time preaching.)
Seeds
on good soil... (The narrative from Matthew about the sower of seeds can
have many meanings, but one which bothers me at this time is the question of
what seeds we are sowing with the so-called "war on terrorism"?)
"Lord,
help me..." (The healing of the Canaanite woman's daughter raises for
us today the question of going outside our own "tribe" to bring the
Good News of God's love to others, including those whom we consider our
"enemies" today.)
"Who/What
Can Separate Us?"
(The fear and anxiety of these days of terrorism
after 9/11 cannot
separate us from the love of God. Let us dwell more deeply in His presence.)
Re Healing and Forgiveness:
"The
Prodigal Son" (This classic parable is a powerful reminder to us of the
need for forgiveness and for welcoming back into relationship those who have
repented or recovered from their sins.)
"Be
Made Clean..." (A column exploring the healing aspects of
faith versus a religion that causes further dis-ease.)
Misc:
"Who
Was Luke?" (What do we know about the author of the third Gospel
and the Acts of the Apostles?)
"The
Righteous Recognize" (Simeon and Anna
recognized Jesus as the Messiah when he was presented in the Temple. Can the
"righteous" who are not Christian also recognize Jesus?)
"Anglican
Rosary?" (Catholic pray the Rosary, but what about Episcopalians or
Anglicans? What is the Rosary about?)
Epiphany -
Happy New Year (A look at what Epiphany means in our
lives today, why it is an appropriate celebration of New Year's.)
"Who
Is Lazarus?" (The 5th Sunday of Lent presents us with this marvelous
narrative from the Gospel of John, but also raises the question, Who was
Lazarus?)
Gifts for the Common
Cause (Epiphany 2-C) (Paul's teaching means more than so-called spiritual
gifts. I believe all talents can be Spirited if the build the earth)
