Listen Up!
February 19, 2023
Church of the Servant
Last Sunday after Epiphany, Year A Matthew 17:1-9, 18:1-5 Click the Audio Link below to hear the Sermon (The second link below includes both the scripture reading and the Sermon.)
Sources:
Listening Every Step of the Way
February 23, 2020
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
Last Sunday after Epiphany
Matthew 17:1-9
Listen here (transcript below):
Transcript of sermon:
Today is the last Sunday after Epiphany, which makes it the last Sunday before Lent, Each year on this particular Sunday we hear the story of the transfiguration of Jesus on the mountaintop. Read the rest of this entry »
The Gift of Lent
February 26, 2017
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The Last Sunday after Epiphany
Exodus 24:12-18; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Matthew 17:1-9
(Gospel Text provided below)
Today is the last Sunday before Lent… so live it up!
It reminds me of a t-shirt I saw on one of our family road-trips. By this time, we were in our teens, and headed to Idaho for a 6-day raft trip. One gift shop along the way had a t-shirt that read “Eat, Drink, and Be Merry, for tomorrow you may be in Utah.” If you’ll allow me Episcopal license, today that shirt might read: “Eat, Drink and Be Merry, for on Wednesday we begin Lent.”
This presumes that Lent is a time of austerity and self-denial. Yet, as a teenager, I learned that Lent can also be a time to take things on. To make a commitment to do something you’ve been putting off, or to improve your well-being, or perhaps, to serve others in a more tangible way. This approach to Lent has been helpful for me, and was especially so during my first few months in Atlanta.
I came to Atlanta from Houston seven years ago to embark on a vocational transformation. I arrived in January with snow on the ground – did I mention I came from Houston? I’d left behind all that was familiar – my family, my friends, and a budding romance. So, while I was living into this new purpose for my life, it came with some losses, some sacrifices.
I didn’t have a job, and wasn’t planning to get one before the start of seminary in August. I moved in January to get settled-in, and start getting to know the diocese I’d call home. As an introvert, though, it would’ve been easy to stay in the warmth of my house, with my dog and cat as constant companions. And as easy as that would’ve been, I knew it wouldn’t move me toward my purpose – to get to know the diocese that had welcomed me.
Fortunately, I received a gift just a few weeks after my move – the gift of Lent. That Lent became a season of taking things on. Read the rest of this entry »
Transforming Lent… Get LIT!
March 2, 2014
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The Last Sunday after Epiphany – Year A RCL
Exodus 24:12-18, 2 Peter 1:16-21, Matthew 17:1-9
Peter, John and James go up the mountain with Jesus and Jesus is transfigured. His face beams like the sun and his clothes are dazzling white. In Luke’s version, this transfiguration occurs while Jesus is praying, but today’s reading from Matthew doesn’t provide any context for the change, it just happens.
And when it happens, and Elijah and Moses appear there with Jesus, this doesn’t seem to frighten the disciples in any way. Peter actually wants to set up camp for them. He offers to build three dwellings, one for each of them. This is a glorious event, and although he doesn’t fully understand what’s happening, Peter’s instinct, probably not unlike our own, is to hold onto it as long as he can!
It reminds me of a conversation I had with Bob Rea a few months ago. You never have to wonder if Bob is listening during a sermon because after the service he always shares some thought or insight about what he heard. It’s really quite refreshing, even if what he shares challenges me from time to time.
I had just preached a sermon, and in it I talked about the Sirius XM radio subscription that came with my new car. I confessed that I had found a Contemporary Christian music station that I actually liked, explaining how uplifting the music was for me.
After the service, Bob came up to me and conveyed a cautionary note – explaining quite seriously, that while this kind of music can be inspiring, it can also be quite addictive! If we listen to is all the time, it’s intoxicating in its own way, not unlike setting up tents on the mountain top. Read the rest of this entry »
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