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?
Active Waiting
November 28, 2010
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Sermon on Matthew 24:36-44, given while serving as seminarian.
First Sunday of Advent – Year A (RCL) – Isaiah 2:1-5, Psalm 122, Romans 13:11-14, Matthew 24:36-44
I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. I had a great day with my family in Houston, and because one Thanksgiving meal is never enough, I had a second one with friends in Galveston on Thursday evening. As you can imagine, by nightfall my pillow was calling my name.
And as I went to sleep on Thursday night, powerful winds were rattling the windows, foretelling a dramatic change ahead. Throughout the night I could hear the howling winds as they continued to shake the windows and the eighty degree temperatures of Thanksgiving Day in Texas were replaced by chilly morning air and a cold soaking rain. A change of season was at hand.
Unlike Atlanta, where the vibrant orange and red leaves have been ushering in the seasonal change for several weeks, in southeast Texas there aren’t many visual signs of a change in season. The trees stay green most of the year, and if leaves are going to fall, they seem to do so overnight.
The visible change of seasons I’ve experienced since moving to Atlanta last January remind me of my college days in Ohio. I had forgotten just how much I love to see the visual diversity of God’s creation.
Like the variations in the seasons of nature, with icy snow, blooming flowers, scorching sun and falling leaves, the liturgical calendar also has different moods and theological emphases. These are revealed not only in the colors used at the altar and in the vestments, but also in the scriptural readings, the hymns we sing, and our prayer routine. Read the rest of this entry »
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