Scripture readings: http://www.lectionarypage.net/ “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have come to believe.” Last week we heard from Mark about the women approaching the tomb where Jesus had been laid and how they were worried how they were going to roll the heavy stone away from the entrance. But the stone has been rolled away and they are suddenly afraid and are told to tell no one. And that is where Mark leaves the story. Afraid. None of the other gospel writers leaves us in fear and silence. And over the years as the Gospel of Mark has been copied, writers have given us an alternative ending to Mark’s. They have given us the full story, like Matthew, Luke and John. Fear and silence may have been fleeting emotions but resurrection is the good news. Jesus Christ is risen. This second Sunday of Easter builds on the […]
Read more →April 1, 2018 In 1609 Galileo aimed his rudimentary telescope up to the night sky. He later wrote of that experience saying, “It is a beautiful and wonderful sight to behold the body of the moon…” That first up-close view of the moon led Galileo to question the contemporary belief of that time – that all things in the universe revolved around the earth. Yes, Galileo looked up at the heavens using a telescope and what he saw forever revolutionized our understanding of the universe. And it all began with our ordinary and quite familiar moon. As an Easter people, we can sometimes find the resurrection story has become so familiar to us that we no longer approach the narrative in awe and wonder. And yet, it is a story that invites nothing less than astonishment. Resurrection is so other, so foreign to the normal realities of life. We are […]
Read more →March 11, 2018 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength, and our redeemer. Amen. Happy Mothering Sunday. Yes Happy Mothering Sunday So the story goes that during the 16th century, people returned to their mother church for a service to be held on Laetare Sunday ie the 4th Sunday in Lent. Your mother church was either the church where you were baptized, or the local parish church, or the nearest cathedral, that being the mother church of all the parish churches in a diocese. In later times the day was called Mothering Sunday and became a day when domestic servants were traditionally given a day off to visit their mother church, usually with their own mothers and other family members, before the busy responsibilities of Holy Week and Easter. It was often the only time that whole families could gather together for […]
Read more →March 4, 2018 After hearing an escaped convict from nearby Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary only made it 8 miles into the surrounding dense mountainous forest after 55 hours on the lam…Gary Cantrell, a.k.a. Lazarus Lake, couldn’t help but mock the man’s lack of stamina. He said to himself “I could do at least 100 miles” and thus, the Barkley Marathon was born. You might have heard about his unusual race through a recent Netflix’s documentary, but for those that haven’t, the race is named after Lazarus’ longtime neighbor Barry Barkley and is limited to only 40 runners each year. At an unannounced time each year, the registration opens with each applicant having to complete an essay on “Why I Should be Allowed to Run in the Barkley” and also pay the application fee of $1.60.There are also other random requirements subject to change each year. If accepted, each entrant receives […]
Read more →February 25, 2018 Audio Version Do you know how long it takes to reenact the 1964 Christmas TV special “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer?” If it helps, the original show was 55 minutes long. And so any idea on how long it takes to then act it out on your own? Well when Nils Morgan Duncan, my 4-year old son, is the director, the answer is 90 minutes. Under Nils’ direction the run time is increased by at least half an hour. That’s right, the Duncan household must have watched Rudolph’s story at least 20 million times this past Christmas. So much so that one evening Nils had us all reenact the entire show. We all played various parts, but Nils played the coveted roles of Hermie the Elf, Santa, and of course, Rudolph… I believe I was assigned the part Abominable Snowman. For those not familiar with this 1964 […]
Read more →Printable Version of Sermon: Year B- Epiphany 4- St. Paul’s- 2018.01.28 Denis was the bishop of Paris during the 3rd Century and was a renowned preacher who happened to get crosswise with the local Roman authorities. As was the norm of the time, the Roman governor ordered that Denis be beheaded. According to legend, to everyone’s surprise after the gruesome deed, Denis stood up, picked up his severed head, and walked away still preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. It is said that he walked an additional 6 miles up the road in this manner before he collapsed and finally died. Today, Denis’ final resting place, where he collapsed, is where you will find the Basilica of St. Denis, dedicated to the memory of a man who would not let anything stop him from preaching the gospel. Then there is St. Columba of Scotland who, […]
Read more →January 7, 2018 As I was growing up, my mom had four simple letters that when spoken could get my brother and me to shape up and immediately behave. We knew when we heard those four letters we were expected to stand at attention and keep our hands to ourselves. The only caveat to those four magic letters was that they weren’t pertinent in every situation. These letters were reserved for situations like walking into antique stores or the china section of a department store. They were reserved for art museums or homes with expensive items. Yes, my mom had four little letters that when spoken in the right circumstance would strike the fear of God into us: L-B-D-T. Look But Don’t Touch. We are in Macy’s and a beautiful crystal vase calls out to be held… L-B-D-T… Look But Don’t Touch. We are at my grandparents’ house and the […]
Read more →December 31, 2017 I want to share with you an essay from the New York Times on December 24, 1983 entitled “The Gift Behind the Gift” by Gregg Easterbrook. The most splendid Christmas gift, the most marveled and magic, is the gift that has not yet been opened. Opaque behind wrapping or winking foil, it is a box full of possibilities. An unopened present might be anything – gems, crystal, oranges, a promise of devotion. While the present is unopen, it can rest under the tree to be regarded and speculated upon at length, becoming whatever the recipient wishes. Opening the present, by comparison, is often anticlimactic – no matter what the contents. For once opened, the gift passes from the enchanted realm of promise into the constrained reality of material possessions. Then it begins to impose terms on its owner – terms like sizes, warranties, colors, maintenance, accessories, storage […]
Read more →December 24, 2017 Audio Version In a sleepy New England town, many of the Christmas traditions of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church date back nearly a hundred years, which is not much for that particular congregation considering the parish was founded before the Declaration of Independence was signed. Much of the pomp and circumstance surrounding the season brought people from far and wide due to the sheer beauty of the celebration. From the poinsettias to the choir to the altar hangings to the incense to the large hand-carved nativity scene, Christmas at St. Matthew’s is truly a sight to behold. However, it was that hand-carved nativity that brought scandal to St. Matthew’s one particular year. A new rector arrived at St. Matthew’s at the start of the Advent season and he had no idea of the hornets’ nest he had just walked into. His first Sunday a mob gathered around […]
Read more →November 5, 2017 Keith Davison had looked forward to the peace and quiet of retirement for quite some time, but he quickly got more than his fill of silence in the months after his wife of sixty-six years died.[i] That is when the ninety-four-year-old, Mr. Davison, had an idea… In early spring this year, he noticed that his older established neighborhood in Minnesota didn’t really have any parks or gathering places for children. So he went to his backyard with a measuring tape in hand and began marking the ground with a can of spray paint. He floated his idea out to his neighbors, especially those with children, to see what they thought. One neighbor in particular was shocked to see him marking the ground. She said to her husband in amazement, “I think he’s really going to do it.” Today we gather on this All Saints Sunday to sing […]
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