17th Sunday after Pentecost

Readings for today.

Watch the service (on YouTube) here.

“By what authority are you doing these things, and who gave you this authority?” (Mt 21:23). 

The chief priests and elders of the Jerusalem Temple are charged with keeping order in the holiest of holy places in Judaism.  And they want to know who gives Jesus authority to upend the tables of the merchants (which he has done recently) and question the economy of the Temple.  Is he just another fanatic who wants to disrupt the status quo without offering any real, constructive alternative?  Or does he actually have authority to call for a new order?

16th Sunday after Pentecost - First Sunday at Trinity

Readings for today.

Watch the service (on YouTube) here.

Good morning, Trinity!

It is so good to be here with you!  My official first day was last Monday, and it’s been a full week of meeting new people, starting to learn about Trinity, and figuring out how to use new technologies.  Thank you to all of you for your patience as I assimilate a lot of new information.  I am so very excited to already be in the midst of figuring out what God has in mind for us to do together.

12th Sunday after Pentecost

Readings for today.

Preached for Church of the Good Shepherd, Federal Way, WA.

Watch the service here.

“Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asks his disciples.  Peter, whose faith frequently falters, gets the right answer, “You’re the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”

Peter’s answer, even if he might not know what it means, even if it’s an answer of faith rather than evidence (yet), has me thinking it’s probably important for us to be able to name who Jesus is as well.  As his disciples in the 21st century.  As followers of a living God, whose story is still unfolding.

4th Sunday after Pentecost

Readings for Today.

Listen to the Sermon.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it…  Is to go where Jesus would go, to every town and place where people yearn for healing and wholeness.  Go in pairs, take nothing with you except your faith and compassion. Proclaim peace. Cure the sick. Live hope.  Share joy. And, by the way, not everyone will be glad to hear your message of love and dignity for every human being.  That’s OK. Your message to everyone is the same: The kingdom of God has come near.

This message will NOT self-destruct.

2nd Sunday after Pentecost

Preaching at Trinity Episcopal Parish, Seattle.

Readings for today.

Listen to the Sermon.

As a preacher, there are weeks when it seems like the lectionary was selected to highlight the news of the week.  This past Thursday, June 20, was World Refugee Day - a day set aside by the United Nations for international recognition of refugees and displaced persons around the world.  71 million of them in the last year, according to the U.N.[1] 

Trinity Sunday / Last Sunday at St. Hilda St. Patrick

Readings for today.

Listen to the sermon.

Hello, St. Hilda St. Patrick.  It is both wonderful and difficult to stand here with you this morning.  My heart is very full, and it is a good fullness of grace and gratitude.

Pentecost

Readings for Today.

Listen to the Sermon.

I love a good after-dinner conversation.  Gathered around the table with friends. Relaxed, with clean feet and full bellies.  When the conversation turns to bigger thoughts about life and the future. Even on a full stomach, we can hear the anxiety and fear in Philip’s voice when he asks Jesus, again, about seeing the Father.  

We know that kind of anxiety and fear – in our every day personal lives, in our uncertain and chaotic world, and in our life as a community of faith.  So much in life brings mixed feelings and unknowns - a new health diagnosis, children moving toward adulthood and independence, the impending big earthquake, and even the arrival of a new vicar.  Things we can prepare for, but not things we can control. And that makes us anxious and fearful, even in anticipation of hopeful outcomes.

Like the disciples, what we really want to know is if we will be OK.