Here I Am
December 23, 2012
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Houston, Texas
Advent 4, Year C – Luke 1:39-45 (46-55)
Good morning, I’m so excited to be here today. There are so many familiar faces… Not just those I’m related to… it seems like just yesterday that I was sitting in the pews alongside you… In some ways at least. But, I know that can’t be, because there are some unfamiliar faces, too… which is always a good sign for a church!
I remember several years ago, when I was one of those unfamiliar faces at St. Andrews. One Sunday I showed up anticipating Barbara’s sermon, and there was this young guy who got up to preach. I could tell that many in the congregation were excited to see him, but I had no idea who he was… I was a little disappointed I wasn’t getting to hear Barbara, but, that’s the way it goes sometimes…
This guy who was preaching that day was Kevin Schubert. He, like me now, had just returned from seminary, and was newly ordained… I now understand what the fuss was all about! As I stand here with eager faces before me, welcoming me back into the community that has been an important part of my journey.
I came to St. Andrews about seven years ago, while I was on the path to discerning my vocation. I had been in Banking for twenty years, and although I feel that some people are called to a vocation in banking, really I do, I also know very confidently that I am not one of them. It’s not that I wasn’t good at it, it just wasn’t what I thought I was supposed to be doing any longer… And so, I began listening for what was next. Read the rest of this entry »
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 Myers-Briggs of Mission
February 5, 2012
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Sermon on Mark 1:29-39, given while serving as seminarian
5th Sunday After Epiphany – Year B (RCL)
Isaiah 40:21-31, 1Corinthians 9:16-23 & Mark 1:29-39
Last fall I was asked if I’d come to one of the YEA group’s Sunday school classes and share my story. A few weeks before, I asked one of the leaders if there was something in particular that would be good to focus on. She explained that they’ve been talking about discernment, and discerning their own spiritual gifts, and as part of this, each of them had done the Myers-Briggs assessment – so I did one, too.
Now, Myers-Briggs has been around for a long time and many people, probably many of you, have been exposed to it. And those who have taken it invariably know their “Letters” and they’ll say things like… “I’m an ENFP,” and if you know Myers-Briggs, this is short-hand that tells you they are Extroverted, Intuitive, Feeling and Perceiving: E-N-F-P. A general description of an ENFP is that they are:
…both “idea”-people and “people”-people, who see everyone and everything as part of a cosmic whole. They want to both help and to be liked and admired by other people, on both an individual and a humanitarian level…
Sound like anyone you know??
Getting out of the boat
August 7, 2011
Emmaus House Episcopal Chapel, Atlanta, GA
Sermon on Matthew 14:22-33
Proper 14 – Year A (RCL) Genesis 37:1-4, 12-28; Psalm 105, 1-6, 16-22, 45b; Romans 10:5-15; Matthew 14:22-33
Several weeks ago, in anticipation of preaching, I took a look at the Lectionary for this Sunday. When I saw that it was the story of Jesus walking on water, I had more than a little trepidation. You see, I’m a pretty straight-forward thinker – any of you who know me, have probably noticed that about me. I like facts whenever possible… I take a very left-brain approach to situations.
Now, had the gospel lesson been a parable that Jesus was telling, that would be no problem. He taught using metaphors and storied illustrations all the time, but today’s lesson is a story pointing to something Jesus did, not something Jesus said. I like for those types of stories to be “fact-based” – told more from an historical perspective, or told in a way that makes it fairly easy to understand what happened.
You can image that with this bias, approaching scripture can be a real challenge and specifically this walking on water thing … If the story is being told by one of Jesus’ apostles, and if it isn’t factually accurate, how do we believe anything else written in the gospel of Matthew? Or any of the other gospels for that matter?
jodygreenwood 