Sunday, December 22, 2024, Fourth Advent – Micah 5:2-5a, Luke 1:46b-55, Hebrews 10:5-10, Luke 1:39-45 [46-55] I’ll never forget the experience of watching the chubby, frumpy middle-aged woman with an unflattering hairdo walk onto the big stage with the microphone in her hand. She had shared with the offstage hosts that she was 47, lived alone […]
Sunday, December 8, 2024, 2nd Advent – Gospel Luke 3:1-6, also Malachi 3:1-4, Luke 1:68-79, Philippians 1:3-11. I began this sermon by singing… “Prepare Ye the Way of The Lord, prepare ye the way of the Lord. Prepare ye the way of the Lord, prepare ye the way of the Lord.” Who remembers that song? I’m
Sunday, December 1, 2024, First Sunday of Advent – Luke 21:25-36, also Jeremiah 33:14-16, Psalm 25: 1-10, 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13. Prior to the outbreak of World War I, psychiatrist Carl Jung had a series of visions that he later interpreted as foreshadowing the First World War. His visions included an image of a sea of
Sunday, November 24, 2024 – Mark 12:38-44, also 1 Kings 17:8-16, Psalm 34:1-8, Hebrews 9:24-28. Today is Christ the King Sunday. This feast day was established by Pope Pius XI in 1925 in response to the movement toward secularism and atheism. It’s the last Sunday in the Christian liturgical calendar, and our new year begins
Sunday, October 20 2024 – Mark 10:35-45, also Isaiah 53:4-12, Psalm 91:9-16, and Hebrews 5:1-10. The theme of our readings today is the suffering servant who gives up his own life for the sake of the whole. I have to admit, for good or for ill, I’ve never had to live my life in the
Sunday, October 13, 2024 – Mark 10: 17-31, also Amos 5:6-7, 10-15, Psalm 90:12-17, and Hebrews 4:12-16. I love a good mystery, especially the British shows like Grantchester and, more recently, Magpie Murders. I love glimpsing hidden clues that solve the puzzle. Today’s gospel about the rich man is a kind of mystery that can
Sunday, September 22, 2024 – Mark 9:30-37 also Jeremiah 11:18-20, Psalm 54, James 3:13—4:3, 7-8a Several years ago, when I left the corporate world to become a performing singer and songwriter, I was also doing some consulting work. I’d had a long career in marketing and communications, and so I used all of my skills
Sunday, September 15, 2024 – Mark 8:27-38 also Isaiah 50:4-9a, Psalm 116:1-9, James 3:1-12 Our readings today – aside from the gospel – touch on the potential dangers of speaking and the value of listening. Both Isaiah and the Psalm mention our listening to God and God’s listening to us. And then James weighs in
Sunday, September 8 – Mark 7:24-37 also Isaiah 35: 4-7a, Psalm 146, James 2:1-10 [11-13] 14-17 “Eraser” by David Hayward | Naked Pastor You may have seen one of my favorite cartoons. It’s just a black and white sketch created by David Hayward (who goes by “Naked Pastor”) that shows a bunch of people with
Sunday, September 1, 2024 – Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23, also Song of Solomon 2:8-13, Psalm 15, James 1:17-27 Our first reading today is from a book known as both the Song of Solomon and the Song of Songs. It’s one of five books known as the Wisdom literature of the Hebrew Bible. The other four
