I am pleased to share that I have joined the authors at the Emerging Scholars Network blog. My first devotional essay was posted last Sunday and I believe the next four will come out on a weekly basis. We’re delighted to start summer with a new Scholar’s Compass series. Scholar’s Compass is our ongoing online […]
The Great Vigil of Easter 2017 – St. Bartholomew’s, Nashville. This is my homily from this year’s Great Easter Vigil.1 The service is gorgeous, but long (hence a homily and not a full sermon) and since it starts after sundown it does not end until quite late. Some parishes will have the service start about an hour before dawn […]
The psalm assigned for today’s Morning Prayer is 102. Powerful, poignant, and a reminder both of the importance of lament in our prayer life and of faith within the midst of lament. Psa. 102:0 A prayer of one afflicted, when faint and pleading before the LORD. 1 Hear my prayer, O LORD; let my cry come […]
A Prayer for Sound Government, from The Book of Common Prayer, pp. 821-2. O Lord our Governor, bless the leaders of our land, that we may be a people at peace among ourselves and a blessing to other nations of the earth. Lord, keep this nation under your care. To the President and members of the Cabinet, […]
This sermon was preached at St. Bartholomew’s, Nashville, TN on Sunday, November 13, 2016. The previous week Donald J. Trump had been elected as President of the United States. Proper 28 (33) (November 13, 2016) First reading and Psalm Isaiah 65:17-25 98 Second reading 2 Thessalonians 3:6-13 Gospel Luke 21:5-19 Karl Marx famously said, [History] […]
Sermon for Sunday, 10 July 2016. St. Paul’s in Philipsburg, PA. Proper 10, Eighth Sunday after Pentecost Deuteronomy 30:9-14 and Psalm 25:1-10 • Colossians 1:1-14 • Luke 10:25-37 Endure everything with patience Colossians 1:11 May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure […]
The Collect: Second Sunday of Easter, Rite Two Almighty and everlasting God, who in the Paschal mystery established the new covenant of reconciliation: Grant that all who have been reborn into the fellowship of Christ’s Body may show forth in their lives what they profess by their faith; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives […]
Some Christians believe God rewards the faithful. So why did I get Stage 4 cancer? A powerful piece by Kate Bowler of Duke Divinity. She has literally written the book on the prosperity gospel and was recently diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. She notes the irony of her having written a book about the gospel of […]
God does not cause the tragedy, but he is with us in the midst and aftermath. Isa. 43:1 Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; […]
This is my most recent idea for the title of a work coming out of my recent writings and talks on suffering. (See the page A Biblical Theology of Suffering for those links.) The quote comes from Frederick Buechner and is oft cited. I have used it for years in graduation speeches. The fuller context […]
