jodygreenwood

Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Sermon on James 1:17-27, given while serving as seminarian

Proper 17 – Year B (RCL) – Song of Solomon 2:8-13, Psalm 45:1-2, 7-10, James 17-27, Mark 7:1-8, 14-15, 21-23

It’s great to be back at Christ Church. Classes at Candler started a few days ago, but this morning I’m going to talk a little bit about a class I took last semester, it was Christian Ethics… I assure you, that’s not an oxymoron.

As the primary assignment, each person in the class had to come up with their own moral question – it could be related to the ENVIRONMENT, to the issue of WAR or VOILENCE, or one with a focus on POVERTY. I chose Poverty. This is an issue I have consistently struggled with – not from a personal experience perspective, but from a “what are we to do about it?” perspective.

Like many of you, I learned the value of a dollar from my parents, but we were always fairly comfortable, financially speaking. Growing up in the Christian faith, going to church and reading the Bible… to the extent Episcopalians do that… I have consistently heard passages and said prayers about taking care of the poor. Even so, I’ve struggled with how to respond effectively to the issue of poverty. Read the rest of this entry »