Matthew 16:21-28 Have you ever noticed that in the movies, the hero always gets begged not to go and save everybody? “No, its too dangerous Superman– they’ve got Kryptonite.” “No, Captain Kirk - Jim, you can’t do it, they’ll kill you.” “James (as in James Bond), please don’t do go, I can’t stand to lose … READ MORE…
Today we hear the story from the Gospel of Matthew of Peter’s confession of Jesus as the Messiah, the son of the living God, and how Jesus responds to this confession by giving Peter the “keys of the Kingdom of Heaven.” This story might conjure up images of Jesus, tossing the keys to his beloved … READ MORE…
What a week. Hatred unmasked in Charlottesville; the revolving door of the White House spinning ever faster; mass resignations of prominent business people and artists from presidential advisory bodies; disfunction, confusion, blame, outrage everywhere we look. It’s been a strange week to be in America. This has been a week for looking in the mirror … READ MORE…
In the lesson from the Hebrew Scriptures today, Joseph was a dreamer. It was one of the many reasons his brothers didn’t like him and tried to kill him. He had a gift for seeing the future broken loose from the chains of today. The annual memorial service for another dreamer, Dr. Martin Luther King … READ MORE…
If you’re experiencing a little déja vu this morning, it’s probably because you were at church on February 26, the last Sunday before Lent, which is our annual reading of the Transfiguration Gospel. We get the story twice this year because, in their wisdom, the compilers of our Prayer Book decreed that the traditional feast … READ MORE…
There is a story about a man who was a member of his parish, but who didn’t give anything to the church one year. When the priest went to check on him, he opened the door and asked, “Did you know that my son just wrecked his car and needs a new one?” The priest … READ MORE…
Jacob is on the run. He is running from the murderous rage of his twin brother, Esau, whom he has tricked out of his birthright as the firstborn son. He is in the wilderness, alone, heading for the farm of his uncle, Laban, where he is to find a wife. And out there, in the … READ MORE…
Happy pride! Pride is a time when people come out. Come out of hiding. Come out of dark places and into the light. When people celebrate things that for many years were visible only in secret places. This reading today is part of Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount. He is talking to a people, … READ MORE…
It’s Independence Day weekend. This is a holiday when we celebrate freedom, when we celebrate the unique character of the United States, formed and shaped by the same men who also shaped the governance of our own Episcopal Church. It’s a secular holiday, but the 4th of July is also named as a major feast … READ MORE…
How appropriate that, on the day when our secular culture celebrates fatherhood, we read in Genesis of God’s promise to Abraham that he would be the father of nations. This is the story that puts the twinkle in his eye that ultimately becomes the whole chosen people of God. Three strangers come to Abraham’s desert … READ MORE…