sermons – Page 10 – Reviving Creation

sermons

Photo © Robert A. Jonas

Rejoicing even in darkness

We gather this morning with shocked and troubled hearts as we absorb news of the massacre in Connecticut.  Here in this sacred space I invite you to join me in a moment of silence as we lift up before God those who perished in the gunfire and those who awoke in Newtown this morning deeply grieving, traumatized, angry, or afraid. …

A heart for healing

Whoa – these are not the consoling words that we want to hear when we come to church!  Jesus’ predictions of war and natural disaster resonate with what may already be on our minds this morning, we who are following the news of the accelerating conflict in the Middle East, with rockets striking the outskirts of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem,…

The marriage beyond marriage

It’s a wonderful mythic story, but it’s been troublesome, too, and over the years progressive Christians have felt a need to clarify or correct its interpretation.  For starters, the story could imply that because woman was made from a man’s rib, women by nature are derivative of men, that by nature we are secondary and subordinate.   This inte

Purifying the heart

I mention this today because our Gospel is all about that flow.  The Pharisees and scribes seem to be focused only on the outside, on what is external: on washing their hands before they eat, on washing the produce that they buy in the marketplace, on washing the cups and pots that they use when preparing their food.  Let me…

“Get up and eat”

The God I meet in Jesus, the God I meet in every Eucharist, is a God who seeks intimacy with us, a God who longs to draw close.  So many of us are filled with self-doubt.  So many of us speak harshly to ourselves, or find constant fault with ourselves.  What a contradiction it is to that inner voice of…

Radiance on the Mountain

What just happened?  The holy presence that secretly abides within every person and every part of the created world has suddenly, briefly become visible to the human eye.  The vivid image of Jesus lit up from within accords with the experience of mystics from every world religion who speak of a vibrant, shimmering energy or light that flows through everything,…

No Leisure Even to Eat

I am moved by the observation that the apostles had “no leisure even to eat.”  Those of us who struggle with food may very well eat with no sense of leisure – maybe we eat standing up or on the fly, while we’re driving or reading, working or otherwise multi-tasking.  We may grab every possible opportunity to eat, but eat…

Finding God in goodbye

I don't know about you, but I don't like letting go. I don't like to say goodbye. When we allow ourselves to care - when someone's presence becomes important to us, when we open our heart to someone and we notice how our spirits lift when he or she walks into the room, we will probably be sad when the…

Ascending into heaven

I've been pondering with some bemusement the timing of the election for the tenth bishop of New Hampshire. I don't know how or why the decision was made to schedule the election so close to the feast day of the ascension, but in any case, here we are, praying our way toward Saturday accompanied by these images from the Book…