Sermons
Are we struggling alone? Are you?
It seems to live is to struggle. I’m not convinced that life is “nasty, brutish, and short.” I have been trying hard not to think or speak for other people but I think struggle is a constant for all of us. So if struggle is a common thing then why is it so hard to convince ourselves we are not struggling alone. I was drawn to the alternate Old Testament…
Wrestling and food
The past month was a good one for me. I am one of those people who can find it difficult to take time off, at least from preaching in my case. The rest was deeply appreciated and I am immensely grateful to the good people of St. Mark’s for “making” me take time off 😄 The Lectionary texts for this Sunday posed a bit of a problem for me. As…
Hospitality . . . again
PLEASE NOTE: St. Mark’s will not be having services in the month of July this year so the next sermon will be the first Sunday of August. It might seem strange for me to talk about hospitality again, after all, it was only a couple of weeks ago we talked about it. The thing is, the more I sat with these texts, the more I realized hospitality is a sufficiently…
Who does God use?
Today is Fathers’ Day and I can’t say I found much to say about fathers in the texts . . . at least nothing particularly complimentary. So instead I decided to look at the broader context of all our texts and I found myself asking the question, which is the sermon title to no one’s surprise, “Who does God use?” As questions go, this one has some importance. So who…
Let’s talk about hospitality
What is hospitality? If we are going to talk about it as the sermon title suggests, we should probably give some thought to what it means. Hospitality is more than being civil to people you don’t know well, or perhaps at all. It is more than inviting people into your space—home, office, coffee shop table. It is more than entertaining, throwing a good party. Hospitality is all about making someone,…
Have you been called? Have I?
What does it mean to be called? I’m not talking about being called in for supper, important as that call is. Being called is being asked to take up a calling. Some people are called to be doctors, some to be teachers; these people feel that there is more to their career than a financial decision or even a personal preference. They are doing what they are meant to do….
It’s not the math
Not everyone likes math. That’s okay, not everyone likes coffee or cookies or sunsets or . . . . I don’t mind it, but I wasn’t very good at math beyond about grade seven. I could handle simple algebra, and later in high school, I had an absurdly intuitive grasp of trigonometry (go figure (pun very much intended)). I could never wrap my head around the concepts as concepts, so…
Who doesn’t want gifts?
The Day of Pentecost might not be the first day you think of in connection with gifts, and that’s okay because in the end, I didn’t really preach about gifts as much as inclusion. I was reading a post from Diana Butler Bass’ excellent substack (https://dianabutlerbass.substack.com/ if you want to look her up) where she focused on the word “all” in the Pentecost readings. The more I reflected on what…
Why leave?
Today is the Sunday closest to Ascension Day. Today is also the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia & Biphobia. I found myself wondering how I was going to bring these two important things together. As I was wondering, pondering even, the Holy Spirit told me to stop worrying about it; it would work out. I may not be the fastest learner, but one thing I have learned is to listen…
What do we need to do?
Have you ever wondered what you need to do? I know I have. Sometimes it is rather trivial, maybe wondering if I should do the dishes or start supper. Sometimes it is anything but trivial, maybe wondering if I should pursue this or that career path. The question seems to be one that is likely to come up rather frequently as we go about our lives. I realize today is…