Sermon

You have to love a biblical text which in two short verses provides transition, location, and a nice wee summary.  We find ourselves in a transition from the ministry of John the Baptist to that of Jesus; in a very specific locale – Galilee; with a ministry that will be…...

You may have seen word clouds online, or in magazines. They are produced when the words folks provide are counted by a computer, and then mixed together to form a ‘cloud’ in which the size of each word is proportional to its occurrence. I believe that the word which this…...

By now we recognize the pattern of angelic announcements: of Ishmael (Genesis 16:7-13), Isaac (Genesis 17:1-21, 18:1-15), and Samson (Judges 13:3-20). As many scholars have pointed out, there is a specific flow to all of this: Appearance, fear/confusion, announcement, objection, promise/blessing. So, Gabriel’s announcement to Mary that she is to…...

I do not know how many titles Mary has been given over the years. Some, like Theotokos, reflect a ‘high theology;’ some are quite poetic, such as Stella Maris (Star of the Sea); and others are very familiar, with Notre Dame being arguably the most famous - Our Lady. However,…...

So sings Simon & Garfunkel, and so begins Mark’s Gospel. Mark has no nativity account, no infancy narrative, no shepherds abiding in the fields, no Wise Men, no manger. Likewise, Mark has no poetic allusion to the Creation to compare with John’s prolog....

I see this week’s Gospel text operating on two different levels. On the one hand Jesus’ teaching is about the end times, and on the other, there are lessons for us to learn about our daily lives. In the former case, Jesus outlines the cosmic signs that the end is…...

Scripture may be unchanging, but I am ever-changing. By which I mean that each time I encounter Scripture I am a different person; time has passed, I am in a different mood, new experiences have affected me, and so forth. And so, my encounter with this text from Matthew’s Gospel…...

“Keep awake!” admonishes Jesus at the conclusion of today’s parable. Yet, the wise bridesmaids fell asleep alongside the foolish ones. Sleepiness is not the main issue. Instead, the focus seems to be on preparedness. The wise ones took advantage of the delayed return of the bridegroom to ensure that they…...

One of my favorite comedians, Ron White, has a wonderful punchline to a story in which he was arrested for being drunk in public. It was all the fault of the bar’s doormen who ejected him from the bar. “I was drunk in private,” he bemoans, “they threw me into…...

What a difference a few wee words can make. The first two words are the Hebrew ben and eben. The former means ‘son’ and the latter, ‘stone.’ And so, when Jesus quotes Psalm 118: 22-23 he is pointing to himself, the Son: “The stone that the builders rejected has become…...