Feb19
February 16, 2012 (Last Sunday after the Epiphany) 2 Kings 2:1-12 Psalm 50:1-6 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 Mark 9:2-9 (From The Lectionary Page) This just in: We humans are creatures of habit and routine. Like other species, we tend to be neophobic — suspicious of change – even though (or maybe precisely because) change is the one constant of life on our planet. And change is a primary feature of today’s gospel passage. We hear an account of the Transfiguration of Jesus each year on the last Sunday of Epiphany. We heard Mark’s version a moment ago, but to get the...
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Feb12
February 12, 2012 (Sixth Sunday after the Epiphany) 2 Kings 5:1-14 Psalm 30 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Mark 1:40-45 (From The Lectionary Page) For years a two-frame cartoon was displayed on the door of our refrigerator. The first frame had a line drawing of a dorky middle-age man with a caption underneath that read, “Parent of eighth grader.” The second frame had a drawing of a dopey, smiling clown. It bore the caption, “Parent as seen by eighth-grader.” We took that cartoon along with us when we moved from Kansas City to Seattle with a thirteen year old eighth grader in...
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Feb05
February 5, 2012 (Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany) Isaiah 40:21-31 Psalm 147:1-12, 21c 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 Mark 1:29-39 (From The Lectionary Page) A friend of mine texted me late last week with the news that they finally have an offer on their house. He asked for my prayers. I assured him that I would not only pray but light a candle before a shrine of Blessed St. Joseph – patron saint of home sales – if he thought it would help. He texted back, “Yes please, and throw in a couple of Tebows while you’re at it.” Now it’s a...
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Jan29
January 29, 2012 (Fourth Sunday after the Epiphany) Deuteronomy 18:15-20 Psalm 111 1 Corinthians 8:1-13 Mark 1:21-28 (From The Lectionary Page) “For my present this year, I want you to take the children to church.” It was grandma speaking to her child about her grandchildren. There are probably a number of ways this same sentiment is expressed: a family member, a loved one, a friend, hoping for a variety of reasons, that the people they care about will “get to church.” Perhaps you’ve tried to get a teenager or a partner to come along to church on a Sunday morning....
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Jan22
January 22, 2012 (Third Sunday after the Epiphany) Jonah 3:1-5, 10 Psalm 62: 6-14 1 Corinthians 7: 29-31 Mark 1:14-20 (From The Lectionary Page) I have an ongoing argument with a good friend of mine. He claims that life is too short to waste re-reading books or watching the same movie more than once. I, on the other hand, find richness in re-reading and re-watching, and was indulging this not too long ago when I watched Chariots of Fire for what was probably the 13th time. Some of you may be familiar with the movie. Set in England in the...
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Jan16
January 16, 2012 (Observance of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) As one who is privileged to celebrate saints days and holy days regularly, I’m always intrigued by the passages of Scripture chosen by those who created the Lectionary for a particular saint’s day. When it is someone of the stature of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the potential for appropriate Scripture passages is enormous. So how intriguing that they selected this passage from Genesis. Joseph, we recall, was specially beloved by his father, and a dreamer. The passage we just heard is meant to chill us to the...
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Jan15
January 15, 2012 (Second Sunday after the Epiphany) 1 Samuel 3:1-10(11-20) Psalm 139:1-5, 12-17 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 John 1:43-51 (From The Lectionary Page) It is good to be with you here today. It is good to welcome the Chamber Choir from the University of Missouri to sing today. It hardly seems like fifteen years have gone by since I served among you as priest. For those of you who are newer to this community or may be worshiping here for a first time, I was on staff here from 1990 through 1996. The years have flown by since Mary, Matt,...
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Jan08
January 8, 2012 (First Sunday after the Epiphany: The Baptism of Our Lord) Genesis 1:1-5 Psalm 29 Acts 19:1-7 Mark 1:4-11 (From The Lectionary Page) This just in: Beginnings are fraught with emotional energy. Hope, expectation, the bubbling up of joy are the usual hallmarks. And usually between the ending of one reality and the beginning of a new, we can count on some time in which to prepare for the big change. Think of the summer before your freshman year, getting engaged, a pregnancy, or the last 18 months at the Cathedral. Gracious space to reflect, to dream, to...
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Jan01
January 1, 2012 (The Holy Name) Numbers 6:22-27 Psalm 8 Galatians 4:4-7 or Philippians 2:5-11 Luke 2:15-21 (From The Lectionary Page) by the Rev. Richard Preis Luke 2:21 “At the end of eight days, when he was circumcised, he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb.” As we enter this new year of 2012, our Gospel lesson today present us a truth which can give comfort, assurance and hope for what is ahead for each of us. A promise was made to each of us by Almighty God on the day...
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Dec25
December 25, 2011 (The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ) Isaiah 52:7-10 Psalm 98 Hebrews 1:1-4, (5-12) John 1:1-14 When I was the young curate at St. Matthew’s, Evanston, the then rector used to like to tell his version of Clement Clark Moore’s Christmas Story both to the parish children and any adult who would listen. His version began in the usual way: “Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse. The stocking were hung by the chimney with care in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.”...
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Dec24
December 24, 2011 (Christmas Eve) Isaiah 9:2-7 Psalm 96 Titus 2:11-14 Luke 2:1-14(15-20) (From The Lectionary Page) It’s Christmas Eve, and I’m filled with wonder. Not just the kind of wonder that’s akin to awe, but also the kind of wonder that . . .well . . . wonders. I wonder what Christmas 2011 means to a mother who has lost her husband, who must take care of 3 or 4 children, working every day, never quite getting everything done, never making ends meet? What does Christmas mean to her? I wonder what Christmas means to the little man in...
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Dec18
December 18, 2011 (Fourth Sunday of Advent) 2 Samuel 7:1-11, 16 Canticle 15 Romans 16:25-27 Luke 1:26-38 (From The Lectionary Page) In my early morning perusal of faith-based websites earlier this week, I came upon one of the most arresting contemporary images of Mary of Nazareth. She is depicted holding in one hand a home pregnancy test, while her other hand is clapped over her mouth. Her face registers a range of emotions: astonishment, joy, fear, hope. If you belong to the sisterhood of motherhood – even if your “baby” now has children of his or her own – you...
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Dec11
December 11, 2011 (Third Sunday of Advent) Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11 Canticle 15 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24 John 1:6-8, 19-28 (From The Lectionary Page) It is the third Sunday of the Holy Season of Advent, a time of joyful anticipation in the Church and sometimes not-so-joyful experiences in the secular ‘holiday’ world. For a few days last week Grady and I joined a group on retreat in a monastery in western Arkansas. Subiaco Abby sits like a medieval stone fortress high on a hill, surrounded by fertile fields and grazing cattle. If you imagine that it is easier to maintain a prayerful...
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Dec04
December 4, 2011 (Second Sunday of Advent) Isaiah 40:1-11 Psalm 85:1-2, 8-13 2 Peter 3:8-15a Mark 1:1-8 (From The Lectionary Page) My ancestors in England raised Dorset sheep. Journals and letters that have survived through the generations mention a variety of chores related to this particular kind of animal husbandry; among other things, sheep-shearing, an event which apparently happened in late spring, after lambing season and before what passes for summer heat in England set in. But before the sheep were sheared, apparently, they had to be washed. Nearly two hundred years ago, this involved herding the flock into the...
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Nov27
November 27, 2011 (First Sunday of Advent) Isaiah 64:1-9 Psalm 80:1-7, 16-18 1 Corinthians 1:3-9 Mark 13:24-37 (From The Lectionary Page) Several years ago, I attended a small conference at the College of Preachers in Washington on Theology and the Arts. The high-point of the conference was a visit to Wesley Seminary. Wesley is a Methodist Seminary that has an arts program thoroughly integrated into its theological curriculum. Bible scholars teach courses with art historians; liturgists teach with dramatists and fabrics designers. Painters and musicians teach with theologians. It is a remarkable program where future parish ministers are designing stained...
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