Listen to what God would have you DO
September 2, 2012
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 »
The challenge of community… the comfort of friends
September 4, 2011
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Sermon on Matthew 18:15-20, given while serving as seminarian
Proper 18 – Year A (RCL) – Exodus 12:1-14, Psalm 149, Romans 13:8-14, Matthew 18:15-20
About 10 days ago, anticipating the arrival of Hurricane Irene, the Borowitz Report stated:
As Hurricane Irene prepared to batter the East Coast of the United States, federal disaster officials warned that Internet outages caused by the storm could force people to interact with other people for the first time in years.
News of the possible interpersonal interactions created panic up and down the coast as residents braced themselves for the horror of awkward silences and unwanted eye contact.
And as officials warned people in the hurricane zone to stay indoors, residents feared the worst: conversations with members of their immediate family.
At the Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA chief Craig Fugate offered these words of advice for those who may be forced into direct contact with other human beings: “Be prepared. Write down possible topics to talk about in advance. Sports is a good one, and of course the weather. Remember, a conversation is basically a series of Facebook updates strung together.”
If you are an introvert like me, this might also be good advice on any given Sunday morning as you prepare to come to church. I used to negotiate where to sit to make sure I could slip out the side aisle before being caught in a face-to-face conversation with anyone. Or if I was brave enough to go to the Parish Hall for a cup of coffee after the service, I quickly found where the back stairs were, or in the case of Christ Church, the exit through the kitchen, so I could make my escape.
Just because I’m homeless…
July 16, 2011
A reflection after a day on the streets of Atlanta, July 2011, hearing the stories of the homeless among us.
Just Because I’m Homeless, Doesn’t Mean…
… I’m stupid,
… I’m penniless,
… I’m hungry,
… I’m crazy,
… I stink,
… I don’t want to work
… I don’t have a choice where I live,
… I don’t have an opinion about school reform
… I don’t have a sense of humor
… I can’t spot hypocrisy,
Just because I’m homeless, doesn’t mean I’m not loved, and what’s more, it doesn’t mean that I can’t love you, just as you are.
Prayerful waiting for the Holy Spirit
June 5, 2011
Emmaus House Episcopal Chapel, Atlanta, GA
7th Sunday of Easter – Year A (RCL) – Acts 1:6-14, Psalm 68:1-10, 33-36, 1 Peter 4:12-14, 5:6-11, John 17:1-11
For those who don’t know it, I have a twin sister whose name is Nancy. When we were seniors in high school, one of the biggest decisions we each had to make was what college we would go to.
Now, unlike some twins, neither Nancy nor I cared about going to the same school as each other, but as it turns out, we both wanted to go to the same school. We both wanted to go to Sewanee – in Tennessee. And we were both happy when we were each accepted. It wasn’t until later that we found out that this was a problem.
My parents knew that college was an important time to find your own way in the world – to discover who you are as an individual. Twins going to a small school on top of a mountain was not a good idea, and one afternoon in March of our senior year, my father said as much. So, since Nancy had chosen Sewanee first, it was incumbent upon me to find another place to go.
I knew if I stayed in Texas it would be very easy for me to fall back into the comfortable care of my youth-group friends and family spread out across southeast Texas. In light of this, going out-of-state seemed to be a better option.
After some direction from my mom, I settled on Wittenberg University, a small Lutheran liberal arts school in Springfield, Ohio. My uncle had worked there when I was very young so we spent many summer vacations with cousins running around the empty campus – this element of familiarity was a plus considering that I’d be so far from home, so Wittenberg was the choice.
In early September, the time had come to leave for school. My mom decided that it would be best for her to fly with me as opposed to me traveling alone. She realized that I wasn’t experienced enough to make that trip by myself… and she was right. Read the rest of this entry »
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