Worship. Serve. Grow.

Homilies (Page 28)

Reorienting Ourselves

The Rev. Katie Gillett reflects on Jeremiah 31:31-34: “Do you ever take time at the end of the day to recall the day and reorient yourself? When I think of reorienting, I think of turning away from the anxieties, worries, and stress and turning instead to joy and peace.” Episcopal Deacon Katie Gillett is currently attending seminary at Duke University and will be with us learning and preaching until the end of April.

Look and Live

The Rev. Carr Holland reflects on Numbers 21:4-9 and John 3:14-21: “This is a story of God remaining oddly, mercifully just. The Israelites sin, they are punished, they look upon the bronze snake and the cost of their sin is squarely seen. They choose hope, a will to see and change, and they are healed.”

Walk in My Presence

The Rev. George Adamik considers Genesis 17:1-7, 15-16 and Mark 8:31-38: “God says to Abraham and Sarah in our reading today, ‘Walk in my presence.’ That’s what God is demanding of Abraham and Sarah. Don’t hide like Adam and Eve or walk away, but let us walk towards each another, let us be in relationship with one another, let’s engage with one another.”

God of Proximity

The Rev. Javier Almendárez Bautista discusses Genesis 9:8-17 and the story of Noah: “I wonder what it would look like for us to reimagine God back into the picture, to see God as one who is fully invested in the lives of God’s creatures, caring, grieving, remembering, to see God get down and work with us in the dirt, concerned with how our actions impact the world around us.”

Ash Wednesday, 2018

Rev. Javier Almendárez Bautista discusses Matthew 6:1-6,16-21.  “The Christian faith is full of symbols that you can touch, feel, smell, and taste. The waters of Baptism, that first moment when people are welcomed into our community: they welcome us in, they are the sustaining force of life….”

Towards Christ

The Rev. George Adamik discusses Mark 9:2-9 and asks “Why does Mark place the story of the Transfiguration at this point in the Gospel?”. Later in the homily, Fr. George offers a preview of upcoming Lenten activities at St. Paul’s.