Being Led
May 11, 2025
4th Sunday of Easter
John 10:22-30, Psalm 23
Click the Audio Link below to hear the Sermon
(The second link below includes both the scripture reading and the Sermon.)
Sources:
1 Joseph A. Bessler, “John 10:22-30 Theological Perspective,” Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 2: Lent through Eastertide, Edited by Bartlett, David L. and Barbara Brown Taylor. Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2009. Kindle edition. Page 1052 · Location 14760.
2 William F. Brosend II, “Psalm 23 Homiletical Perspective,” Feasting on the Word: Year C, Volume 2: Lent through Eastertide, Edited by Bartlett, David L. and Barbara Brown Taylor. Presbyterian Publishing Corporation, 2009. Kindle edition. Page 1035 · Location 14522-14527.
Walking through the Valley
March 22, 2020
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
4th Sunday in Lent – Year A
Psalm 23
“Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood.” – Marie Curie
As a physicist, Marie Curie studied radioactivity and actively promoted the use of radium to alleviate suffering. This was unheard of in her time, yet she applied her intellect and imagination toward something unknown so it could be harnessed for therapeutic use.
Today we find ourselves at a time of discovery. Not you and me personally, although the amount of information we consume from our media sources – whether electronic or paper – can make us feel that we know more than we actually do. But I rest in the knowledge that there are countless Curies out there right now using their intellect and imagination. They are doggedly working to gain an understanding of the COVID-19 virus.
As understandable as it is to focus on the frightening progress of this new virus, it’s also inspiring to think that there is already a prototype vaccine being tested for something we didn’t even know existed a few months ago. Even so, we would be foolish not to acknowledge that we have a long valley to walk through first. Perhaps that’s why Psalm 23 resonated with me as I confronted this week’s lectionary texts. Read the rest of this entry »
The Shepherding Way
May 12, 2019
Church of the Servant, Wilmington, NC
4th Sunday of Easter
Psalm 23; John 10:22-30
Listen here:
Shining Light on Suicide
March 26, 2017
Christ Church Episcopal, Norcross, GA
The 4th Sunday in Lent
1 Samuel 16:1-13; Ephesians 5:8-14; John 9:1-41; Psalm 23
When I was growing up my twin sister and I often had slumber parties to celebrate our birthday. One of these in particular stands out in my memory – the summer we turned 13.
After playing games and eating dinner and cake, it came time for lights-out, though that never meant eyes-closed. When the room got dark, the real stuff began, you know, ghost stories, séances, and in my day, the ever popular “light as a feather, stiff as a board.” This is when the whole group gathered around one willing party-goer who laid in the center, as we called upon spirits from beyond to assist us to lift her using only two fingers.
That year, in the wee hours of the morning, amid these mystical endeavors, the phone rang. One of our friends had a premonition that it was probably bad news… not really a stretch in hindsight, but at the time we gave her full creds as the enlightened one.
Sure enough, the next morning my parents called me and my siblings into their room. Their somber expressions caused me to wonder if my Grandma Caldwell had died. She was elderly and had already had several heart attacks. So, you can imagine my surprise when they shared that our cousin Carl was the one who had died. He was in training with the Air Force. His roommate had found him, seemingly asleep on the sofa, in their base-camp apartment. Carl was one day shy of his 19th birthday, and in two weeks he was supposed to get married. Read the rest of this entry »
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