6th Sunday of Easter - 05/14/2023

 Readings for Today.

The 8:00AM service this morning started a few minutes late because at 7:55 we were calling 911 and administering Narcan to a neighbor on our front steps.  Fortunately, she was with a friend whom I noticed trying unsuccessfully to rouse her.  EMS arrived within minutes and she eventually got up and walked away.  

It was the first time I have ever administered Narcan and I was really glad for all the media coverage I have heard about it recently.  It was easy to use, and I have learned that if someone doesn’t need it it won’t hurt them.  And if they do, it can save their life.

5th Sunday of Easter - 05/07/2023

 Readings for Today.

Good morning, church!  It finally feels like spring!  Occasional sun breaks bring some much needed warmth, and send us Seattlites scrambling for sunscreen and hats.  Birds singing, pollen flying, azaleas and rhododendrons coming into full glory.  And the true meaning of ‘growing like a weed’ is evident before our very eyes!

What I love about spring, beyond the beauty of flowers and light for after-dinner walks, is the sense of renewal and rebirth.  Blinking at the bright sunlight, smelling the sweetness of cherry blossoms, anything is possible.  The unknowing, which seemed so ominous in the shorter, colder, darker days of winter, now feels hopeful.  

4th Sunday of Easter - 04/30/2023

Readings for today.

Sheep and shepherds, oh my! Happy Good Shepherd Sunday!  Just as we read about “doubting” Thomas the Twin on the Sunday after Easter each year, the 4th Sunday of Easter is Good Shepherd Sunday. 

Psalm 23 paints an idyllic picture of God as our shepherd.  Often shared at funerals and other times of uncertainty, it evokes comfort and security.  Green pastures and still waters provide plentiful food and water for unhurried grazing, as do a generously spread table and a cup running over, presumably with living water.  A song of guidance, protection, and plenty that we often sing with shaking voices, soothing ourselves into calm, remembering a peace that revives and reassures us for living.

With Psalm 23 echoing in our ears, we project Jesus as the shepherd onto today’s gospel selection.  Reading more closely, in today’s reading Jesus says he is the gate, the way into the security of the sheepfold.  And the way out into the world.  

2nd Sunday of Easter 04/16/2023

 Readings

Did Jesus really appear to his disciples after he died?  If they didn’t recognize him, how did they know it was him?  Can we doubt AND have faith simultaneously?

Thomas the Twin asked these questions the week after Jesus was resurrected.  We are still asking them today.  They are particularly relevant as we baptize an adult into the body of Christ this morning.  

Easter Day 04/09/2023

 Readings (Matthew Gospel)

Happy Easter!!  

My heart is so full, seeing all of you here this morning!

For those joining us via livestream, outside, it’s a beautiful grayish Seattle day of blooming bulbs and spring green, made so by lots of rain.  

Inside, our sanctuary is awash with light and life: the glory of creation in flowers, joyful music that moves our hearts and bodies, and so many beautiful radiant faces.  

After three years in the pandemic and its shadow, it finally feels like we are emerging into new life.  We persevered through dark, suffocating days, and death.  We labored to find strength to breathe and feel alive.  We are not who we were before.  We are emerging into a new world and understanding of our selves.

Palm Sunday - 04/02/2023

Palm only Readings for today.

The Passion according to Matthew.

No, we didn’t forget to read the Gospel this morning.  With our bishop’s permission, we are using the Palm gospel from the beginning of the service as our Good News this morning.  In The Episcopal Church, Palm Sunday services typically read the Passion gospel just before the sermon.  Today we will hear the story of Jesus’ betrayal, trial, and execution as the postlude to our celebration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem surrounded by a noisy, cloak-wearing, branch-waving crowd.

5th Sunday in Lent - 03/26/2023

 Readings for today.

Can you believe Ash Wednesday was 4.5 weeks ago?!  So much has changed in the world around us - new light and flowers and allergies, more lay-offs and financial uncertainties, and continuing wars for geography and human rights.  

Lent offers some comfort and predictability.  Back on Ash Wednesday, our worship invited us into the prayer cycle of a holy Lent.  The cycle of self-examination and repentance; action as a result of that self-learning, and; listening to the Word of God.  Spending time with Scripture inevitably leads to thinking about the connection between the Word and our lives, and so the cycle begins again.  Self-examination, prayer, Scripture.