Sunday, July 7 – Gospel, Mark 5:21-43. Also Ezekiel 2:1-5, Psalm 123, 2 Corinthians 12:2-10, Mark 6:1-13 How do you handle rejection? I must admit that I don’t handle it well. I’ve felt rejected so many times over the years that whenever I feel like it might happen again, I just want to curl up […]
Sunday, June 30, 2024 – Gospel, Mark 5:21-43. Also Lamentations 3:22-33, Psalm 30, 2 Corinthians 8:7-15 One of the most amazing stories of healing I ever heard came from a medical doctor named Norm Shealy. It was in a workshop in Hot Springs, Arkansas, a place known for its healing waters, that Dr. Shealy shared
Sunday, June 23, 2024 – Gospel, Mark 4:35-41. Also Job 38:1-11, Psalm 107:1-3, 23-32, 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 In 1991, a fishing boat called the Andrea Gail set out for the Great Banks of Newfoundland from Gloucester, Massachusetts, for a late-season sword fishing trip. Having just returned with an empty vessel, Captain Billy Tyne convinced his crew
Sunday, June 16, 2024 – Gospel, Mark 4:26-34. Also 1 Samuel 15:34—16:13, Psalm 92:1-4, 12-15, 2 Corinthians 5:6-10 [11-13] 14-17 In my last year of high school, our class did a senior play and performed “Ten Little Indians” (also known as \”And Then There Were Known\”) by Agatha Christie. You may remember the story. In
Sunday, June 9, 2024 – Gospel, John 3:1-17. Also Gen 3:8-15, Psalm 130, 2 Corinthians 4:13—5:1, Mark 3:20-35 One of my first jobs when I moved to Marietta, GA after college was in sales. Our product was halon fire extinguishers, and we learned a very impressive way to demonstrate their effectiveness. We used to pour
Holy Trinity Sunday, May 26, 2024 – Gospel, John 3:1-17. Also Isaiah 6:1-8, Psalm 29, Romans 8:12-17 It’s very interesting what you can find online when you search around a little bit. Heaven knows there’s a lot of garbage out there, but sometimes I like to see the kinds of questions people are asking about
Sunday, May 19, Pentecost – Acts 2:1-21. Also Psalm 104:24-34, 35b, Romans 8:22-27, John 15:26-27, 16:4b-15. A core theme of our readings today is the movement of the Spirit of God through the world and the transforming work it does. And a major symbol of that Spirit is fire. Fire is one of those aspects
Sunday, May 5, 2024 – John 15:9-17 Also Acts 10:44-48, Psalm 98, 1 John 5:1-6 It’s not fun to feel left out. Last week, I began my sermon with a story about feeling like I didn’t quite belong at a conference at a Catholic seminary. Today, I want to share something a little more personal.
Sunday, April 28, 2024 – John 15:1-8 Also Acts 8:26-40, Psalm 22:25-31, 1 John 4:7-21 Back in the winter of 2010, I drove from the southside of Chicago where I lived in Hyde Park and attended the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago to the Catholic seminary in Mundelein, IL to present my first biblical
Sunday, April 21, 2024 – John 10:11-18, Acts 4:5-12, Psalm 23, 1 John 3:16-24 Today is the day that the church calls “Good Shepherd Sunday.” It’s a day we recognize every year, and every year the readings include Psalm 23. Many of us can recite this psalm by heart, and maybe even feel an immediate
