Trinity Sunday - 05/26/2024

Readings for the day

Hello, Trinity people!

For most of the Church, Trinity Sunday is the first Sunday after Pentecost and thus the first Sunday of a long green season between Easter and Christmas.  Preachers around the world today are wrestling with how to explain the doctrine of the Trinity. 

My seminary preaching professor warned that more heresy is preached on Trinity Sunday than any other single day of the church year. The doctrine of the Trinity is central to Christianity, and also one of the most mysterious and difficult to explain.  Mostly because the intimacies of God’s relationship with Godself are impossible for mere humans to fully know or adequately describe.  

7th Sunday after Easter / Sunday after the Ascension - 05/12/2024

 

Readings for the day

What does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus? 

The gospels, the good news stories about Jesus' life and ministry, mention him talking to and about his disciples.

Some preachers make a really big deal of being disciples, as long as you do what they prescribe.  Pray this way.  Live this way.  Think this way.

Many Episcopalians shy away from the word ‘disciple’ because we prefer to think for ourselves and engage our faith in less prescriptive ways.

Good news, friends.  Disciple, mathētēs in Greek, means ‘learner’ or ‘pupil.’  Disciples are learners, often with allegiance to a particular teacher.  So when we say we are disciples of Jesus the Christ, we follow the teachings of Jesus.  We are also learners, actively thinking, discovering new ways of understanding and applying our faithful learning to our lives and the world we live in.

6th Sunday after Easter - 05/05/2024

Image by Dragan Stanojevic on Pixabay

Readings

In the last 10 days we have celebrated the lives of two members of our Trinity community.  As I talked with Lin’s and Barbara’s friends and family to prepare the funeral services, I heard stories about how they lived their lives.  Stories of kindness and compassion.  Stories of family, of work and integrity, sorrow, play, and delight.  

Reflecting on the lives of these two faithful people reminded me of an interview with a death doula that I heard recently.  Don’t worry if you’ve never heard of a death doula.  It was new to me, too.