Have you heard the one about the extraterrestrial visitor who landed in one of our cities? They saw the shopping malls crowded and the churches empty and reported back to the mother ship that the shopping malls housed the object of worship for our species. Well, today both the malls and the churches are empty, … READ MORE…
Alleluia. Christ is risen! The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia! Is there any text more comforting than the 23rd Psalm? The certainty of that first verse never fails to encourage me: the Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not be in want. I want the kind of faith that can say that and believe it … READ MORE…
Alleluia, Christ is risen. The Lord is risen indeed, Alleluia! Today is the third Sunday in these 50 days of Easter. By now, if you’ve been attending worship, you have heard Matthew’s story of how the risen Christ appeared to the two Marys; you’ve heard John’s story of how Mary Magdalene mistook the risen Savior … READ MORE…
The gospel for this morning hits close to home. The disciples are closed up in a house behind closed doors, fearful. They were fearful of those who had killed Jesus, and it calls to mind our own situation as we sit behind locked doors afraid, or at least anxious, of COVID-19, the virus that has … READ MORE…
We are in the dark. We don’t know when this thing will end. We don’t know if we or people we love will become ill. We don’t know who is telling the truth. We are in the dark and we need the light of Christ. This year, more than ever, we need Easter. In Ezekiel’s … READ MORE…
Palm Sunday, April 5 2020 Penelope Bridges Sermon preached after the Liturgy of the Palms, via Zoom Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; Amen. This is a strange Palm Sunday. It’s not the Palm Sunday that we are used to or that we were expecting just a few short weeks … READ MORE…
We’ve all seen the movie: a story of the relationship between a grouch, and a high-spirited kid; the tension between them grows to a dramatic crisis, and is followed by the grouch’s transformation into a kindly grandparent, and the happy if tear-inducing ending. There is always a turning point in this formula where someone’s worldview … READ MORE…
Grace. I am for it. If I were asked to sum up my theology in one word, it would be “grace.” I don’t think we act on grace enough in the church. Grace is all about the gifts freely given to us that we cannot earn; about the ways in which God loves us that … READ MORE…
I spent three days this week experiencing some of the most powerful preaching and the most inspiring teaching I have heard. Along with Jeff, Maya, our people’s warden Sue, and about 15 other people from this diocese I attended the first Rooted in Jesus conference, in Atlanta, Georgia. The schedule was packed; there were up … READ MORE…
I had the opportunity this week to watch a video entitled “American Creed.” It is a documentary that frames the American dream, and asks what happens to it when social mobility and trust in institutions decline. “Work hard, and it doesn’t matter where you come from. You can go anywhere.” It’s the dream that has … READ MORE…