Overcoming Fear to Claim Your Day
November 13, 2011
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
Sermon on Matthew 25:14-30, given while serving as seminarian
A few weeks ago, as part of my Sociology of Religion class, I attended a Sabbath worship service at a local Conservative Jewish synagogue. Now, I don’t know how many of you have attended a Jewish Shabbat service, but if you find yourself looking at your watch when our service approaches the one hour mark, their 3-hour liturgy would be a real test of endurance for you. It certainly was for me!
This particular Saturday included a Bar Mitzvah. For those of you not familiar with Judaism – the term Bar Mitzvah means “Son of the Commandment.” It’s the time when a Jewish boy, having reached the age of thirteenth, is now counted among the “adults” of the Jewish tradition. [When a girl goes through this it’s called a Bat Mitzvah.] Part of this Rite of Passage includes having the youngster lead a portion of the service, including reading from the Torah, which is written in Hebrew and contains no vowels or punctuation, making it very difficult to read. They also share a short story that they’ve prepared about the Torah reading, similar to our homily. So it’s quite a bit of work.
Now that particular morning, as I was walking through a virtually empty foyer just minutes before the service was to begin, I noticed a family coming through the door. I had a sense that this was the family of the Bar Mitzvah candidate. The young boy seemed happy and self-assured – and as he walked by me I asked, “Is this your day?” He confidently replied, “This is my day.” There was no arrogance in his reply, instead, it was a kind of “claiming” that was amazing and exciting to see. His name is Jacob. Read the rest of this entry »
We do these things… because they are hard
October 24, 2010
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
This is my first sermon at Christ Church where I serve as a seminarian while pursuing a Master of Divinity at Candler School of Theology, Emory.
Revised Common Lectionary – Year C, Proper 25 (Joel 2:23-32, Psalm 65, 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18, Luke 18:9-14)
Growing up in Houston, Texas during the days of the Southwest Conference formed my reference-point for college football. The Orange and White of UT referred to the University of Texas Longhorns, not the Tennessee Volunteers. The “big rivalry” was between the Longhorns and the Aggies of Texas A&M – this was the game that families planned their Thanksgiving meal around.
And then there was Rice University… perhaps the Southwest Conference’s equivalent to Vanderbilt. But with both my mom and dad having gone to Rice during in the 1950’s, when the Rice Owls were a winning football team, the belief each year that Rice would prevail over Texas was instilled in me, and all my siblings, and continues to be espoused by my father even now.
The Southwest Conference disbanded almost fifteen years ago, and even though the teams have moved into various other conferences, the rivalry between the Owls, Aggies, and Longhorns are part of the Texas vernacular. Anyone who’s spent any time in Texas knows what an Aggie joke is and has a frame of reference for the stereotypes attached to each of these schools.
Now, for many of you, when I say “Roll Tide” you attach an image to it… it’s okay, the confessional prayer is just a few minutes away. But for me, having moved to Atlanta just this past January, this is my first SEC Season, and I have little frame of reference for it, or at least not the specifics…
I absolutely “get” the importance. It’s hard to miss. Just drive through any neighborhood and you’ll see a household’s loyalty announced with a banner flying from their front porch. But the rivalry between the Yellow jackets’ and the Bulldogs’ doesn’t motivate me in any way… at least not yet. Read the rest of this entry »
Loyalty is More Than Just Showing Up
October 12, 2008
St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Houston, Texas.
As a member of this church, I was serving as the Coordinator of the Centennial Capital Campaign. Hurricane Ike had hit the Houston/Galveston area hard just a few weeks earlier and the financial meltdown from which we are still struggling to recover had just begun…
Revised Common Lectionary – Proper 23, Year A (Exodus 32:1-14, Psalm 106:1-6, 19-23, Philippians 4:1-9, Matthew 22:1-14)
Good Morning,
I would venture to guess that our rector, Barbara, is a very good fly fisherman, figuratively speaking, anyway.
She finds a quiet spot in the river,
chooses her bait carefully,
and then, ever so skillfully,
drops the “fly” right in front of the unsuspecting trout and reels it in.
For those who have been that Hooked Trout, you know what I’m talking about, but for the rest of you, let me explain…
A few months ago, when we began gearing up for the Centennial Capital Campaign, Barbara mentioned that “it might be good to have one or two members of the parish preach during the stewardship period – to provide another voice for the congregation to hear.”
This would be THE BAIT and I’m THE UNSUSPECTING TROUT.
I told her that she does a fabulous job preaching, and that NO ONE grows tired of hearing her speak, and FRANKLY the thought of taking that on was a bit scary,
But then I said that if she thought it would be good, I’d be willing to do it.
THE HOOK
But, I never heard another word about it. I certainly wasn’t going to bring it up, and was hoping the whole idea had come and gone…
and then, 2 weeks ago, she said “I really do think it would be good to have someone else speak. Perhaps you can do it on Loyalty Sunday”…
She REELED me in – Read the rest of this entry »
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