Today is a day of beginnings here at St. Paul’s as our programs begin today. Our Church School kicked off today, our Youth Program, our Choirs are in full swing, and so many other parts of our church life gear up at this time of the year. In many ways, it’s a time of beginning. In that context I’d like to talk about some things to think about as we begin…
As a preacher, I almost always choose to talk about the day’s Gospel lesson. I may touch on the other lessons but my main concern is to dwell on the message contained in the Gospel. So with that in mind I intend to give some very practical advice on how to behave at a dinner party, so as to avoid embarrassment. It’s simply a matter of choosing the right seat…
Well I can report three sure signs that fall is approaching fast. One, I got to watch about two minutes of a very bad pre-season football game last night. Two, the acolytes were comparing the upcoming school schedules they had received this week with varying degrees of enthusiasm and dread. And three, as you passed through the narthex you probably noticed there were many opportunities to sign up for things…
It sure has been a hot summer so far. We’ve been hitting the triple-digit numbers on more than one occasion. Even across the world it’s been very hot too. So I guess it seems rather appropriate that in this morning’s gospel, we see Jesus turning up the heat as well. Jesus says, “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled…”
What is faith to you? If you were to describe what faith is, how would you describe that? There are probably as many ways of describing it as there are people here in the room today. For many of us we may see faith almost as something that you own. You know, people say, I have faith…”
Oliver Wendell Holmes said, “I would not give a fig for the simplicity on this side of complexity, but I would give my life for the simplicity on the other side of complexity.” Let me give you a visual on this so you can follow me here. Let’s just say that this (points to lectern), right here where I’m standing, is the complexity of our lives…
Some of you may be familiar with a Steven Sondheim musical called “Into the Woods,” which is a retelling of many of the fairy tales that we’re all familiar with in a way that intersect one another so that new stories come out of it. The play begins with three story lines of some of these fairy tale characters who really deeply desire and ask for something…
Yesterday morning as I skimmed the New York Times, online of course, and sipped my coffee, I happened upon a piece by one of my favorite columnists, Bob Herbert. It was titled, “Tweet Less, Kiss More.” Although I will probably be the last tweeter on earth, I thought it would be worth my while to read on, and I was not disappointed…
On the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, there’s a Jewish cemetery. Seemingly for miles, the white caskets stretch, covering the side of the hill for as far as you can see, and dominating the view of the city from that angle. When I asked the tour guide why, he told me many Jewish people want to be buried on the Mount so they’re close to the Valley of Jehoshaphat, where the Old Testament tells us human beings will be resurrected on the Day of Judgement…
Today is the sixth Sunday after the day of Pentecost and the two hundred and thirty fourth annual celebration of our nation’s independence from Great Britain. So I greet you with God’s blessing upon us all and a cheerful good morning. In a letter to his wife Abigail, John Adams wrote in 1776 that our national independence day ought to be commemorated as the day of deliverance by solemn acts of devotion to God Almighty…