There are some places in this world that invite one to ponder and to consider things that they had never given time to before, and over the last ten weeks of my Sabbatical, my life has been full of them. While I’ll go into sharing about my Camino journey and travels in a few weeks,Continue reading “Sustaining Hope”
Category Archives: Sermons
Troubled Hearts
I still have thirty or so hand-written letters from my grandmother. With crystal clarity, I can imagine the sweeping flow of her loose cursive that told me of the weather in Indianapolis or news from the family. While I didn’t totally get it at the age of 18, my parents had encouraged me to writeContinue reading “Troubled Hearts”
Conversion and Conviction
Throughout my whole life, I have suffered from migraines; if you, too, share in this somewhat unpredictable, inexplicable cycle of pain, then you probably know about all the ways in which migraines can rear their head into our lives. Whether it’s light or noise sensitivity, or ocular symptoms or auras, each migraine sufferer has aContinue reading “Conversion and Conviction”
An Idle Tale
It has seemed to me that this Holy Week is hitting differently for almost everyone. I’ve heard both locally from our parish, but also from wider sources that this is a deeper and richer spiritual experience than it has been in the past, perhaps because we haven’t been able to fully walk this week togetherContinue reading “An Idle Tale”
Be What You See
I remember exactly where I was sitting the first time I heard the words that Saint Augustine used to describe communion. The back pew of a tiny chapel that creaked a little when you knelt to pray; I remember the white stone walls and the old stained glass that shined in on that sunny WednesdayContinue reading “Be What You See”
Mary and Judas
Whenever I visit folks in the hospital, I follow the signs that are everywhere – Foam In/Foam Out; maybe this is something you’ve noticed in your own times visiting or being in a hospital, or maybe you don’t have any sort of framework for what this instruction might mean. But in all hospitals now,Continue reading “Mary and Judas”
Vulnerability in the Wilderness
One of my favorite hymns in our tradition is “I sing a song of the saints of God;” in it the author of the hymn text writes about the saints of God and that God is helping us to be one too. My love for this hymn was shaped by the Episcopal Church atContinue reading “Vulnerability in the Wilderness”
Dying, yet Alive
There is something about the experiences I’ve had in life, or my natural bent to be at home in grief, that allows me to be very comfortable with death. It comes with the territory of being a priest, and it was what provided my first nudge toward seminary and ministry. The first time I satContinue reading “Dying, yet Alive”
Overwhelming Defeat and Tangible Hope
It has almost always been the case that some of my best reflections in life have happened sitting on the edge of a lake. I have prayed tearful prayers and sat and stared at the ebbing water wondering if God is really at work in this world at all. There is something the way inContinue reading “Overwhelming Defeat and Tangible Hope”
Inquiring and Discerning Hearts
One of my all-time favorite sitcoms is the recent show, The Good Place; it’s a show that poses the question of what if the afterlife really was as simple as some Christian folks believe. What if all the good things you do add points to your after-life total and all the bad things you doContinue reading “Inquiring and Discerning Hearts”
