I attended seminary in the Midwest at a decidedly Anglo-Catholic school. In the midst of my training, a fellow classmate, for family considerations, transferred to a decidedly Evangelical seminary back east. Her new classmates teased her by saying, there’s that catholic girl who hasn’t been saved. To which she would reply, Yes, I just haven’t […]
Sermon Topic: Christian Life
The Good Samaritan: Context Matters
Despite our culture’s amnesia concerning its Christian roots, the story of the Good Samaritan remains a story that a number of people recognize—remains, that is, a familiar story. But the reason Jesus tells the story, the context of the story, is often forgotten. Yet without the context, we are apt to get the thing wrong. […]
Message in a Bottle
Walking through the crowds on Fifth Avenue is becoming worthy of being an Olympic Sport. Not because there are thousands of people doing their Christmas shopping, I mean the thousands (and I mean thousands) that seem to have developed an innate radar because they can seemingly walk down the street and cross the road whilst […]
A Sermon for Trinity Sunday
Introduction Thank you to Father Carl Turner for his kind invitation to preach here this morning. To agree to preach on a Trinity Sunday, especially in this pulpit, could suggest dubious judgment on my part. However, I am absolutely delighted to be here. The Anglican Tradition is defined by our practice, our common prayer, rather […]
I Belong to Christ!
A young boy, about 11 years old, sat under a tree in his Indonesian village. An older English woman[i] sat next to him, and listened as he quietly recounted the story of the camping trip his Sunday School class had recently taken into the bush. On the last day of their trip, as they began […]
Encourage One Another
We live in an age when many funeral customs have all but disappeared in many societies. Gone are the days of washing and preparing the body, gathering with the body and telling stories and even feasting. Many funerals do not even have the body present at all. I want to encourage you as members of […]
Learning to Minister Like Angels
On Friday, Father Austin and I had the privilege of gathering with many faith leaders from New York with Pope Francis at the 9/11-Memorial Museum for a service of reflection and prayer. It was intensely moving and very humbling. I have visited the memorial before but I had never visited the museum and I walked […]
Family Ties
I wasn’t able to be with you all last week. I was away, but for what I think of as a very good reason: my brother got married. He got married to a very wonderful young woman whom we all adore, and it was a joyful occasion. Part of the joy was just in seeing […]
What Kind of Example Do You Set?
Scripture, from the consumption of a piece of fruit in the Garden of Eden to Revelation’s image of a heavenly banquet in the new Jerusalem, is full of meals and dinner parties. One notable dinner party, recorded in the book of Daniel, contains elements that are instructive to today’s gospel. It begins with the King […]
The Kingdom of God Has Drawn Near
Let us pray: God of the journey – may we come to know, in all times and in all places, that you have called each of us to the harvest. That we are to pack lightly for our journey. And that we are proclaim peace to all that we meet along the way. Amen. + […]
