Sermons
All Saints’ Day
Today is All Saints’ Day. This is another one of those Liturgical days that is a bit of a challenge for a Protestant. When I was growing up we had lots of things around Halloween (or Hallowe’en for the purists) but precious little about All Saints’ or saints at all for that matter. I heard frequently that other people in other religions worshiped saints but we didn’t and that was…
What do you do when you want something?
One of the ongoing themes in my life lately has been the problem of “wanting.” In my case the problem isn’t simply wanting, because that is easy, everyone wants something at virtually every time. No, the problem is facing the reality of “wanting” and then being willing to articulate what I want to the right people at the right time. The irony is that frequently when I am asked what…
Service
The notion of “service” is one that is very difficult for our culture to resonate with. It could be that we keep hearing about the “service industry” and it is one we disdain. It could be the generalized irritation we have with “service calls” that will be done sometime between 8:00 AM and 2:00 PM Monday or Tuesday. It could be how much we dislike the word “service” being used…
Thanksgiving
It is that time of the year when even unrepentant urbanites think about harvests and such to give thanks. I’m no different. Some years the Lectionary readings coincide with “secular calendar” days quite well and then some years it doesn’t, like this year. The texts for this Sunday are not at all stereotypically thankful . . . so what to do? I could have jettisoned the Lectionary, it isn’t inspired,…
Childish or childlike?
There are some words that are very close to each other but have dramatically different meanings. Today’s Gospel text took me on an exploration of the world “childlike.” No one wants to be childish and there are even some people who dislike the notion of being childlike almost as much. Merriam-Webster says childlike is “ resembling, suggesting, or appropriate to a child or childhood; especially : marked by innocence, trust,…
How should we live?
I don’t know anyone who doesn’t wonder about how we should live our lives. It isn’t that everyone had no idea at all, it is that we are all looking for ways to live lives that matter. I am sure if you have the money you can find a guru or a seminar or possibly even a course of classes that will tell you what you need to do. I…
Not a wise guy, just wise
As I was thinking about the Lectionary texts for this Sunday, wisdom kept coming to the forefront of my mind and attention. Wisdom is one of those things that we all want. Interestingly, it is also one of the few words that hasn’t been debased by popular use—with the possible exception of the use in the title of this post, “wise guy”—to the point of being functionally useless.* We want…
Who? Me?
I think it is virtually impossible for any of us over a particular age to hear “Only you . . .” without filling in the rest with “. . . can prevent forest fires” complete with the visual image of a stern bear pointing directly at us. For some people that might have been their first experience with someone, other than a parent, telling them that they had personal responsibility…
It is good to be back
It is good to be back! I had an excellent vacation and not just because I got to work some of it into one or both of the sermons (you’ll have to listen to both of them to see if I’m kidding about the both). This Sunday the Lectionary has us in the book of James, a problematic book for many people but one to which I find myself drawn…
Lists, lists, lists
This is going to be my last post for the month of August. As of next week I am going to be on vacation with my family, at least the members who live in the same house as I do, and won’t be back in the pulpit until September. I will miss it, naturally, but I am also very much looking forward to the different routines and rhythms that come…