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Commandments are a Gift
6 Epiphany – February 12, 2017 Matthew 5:21-37 So, our readings this morning are not of the warm and fuzzy variety, they relate to the law. Our reading from Deuteronomy tells us to choose life. “I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Choose life…” Our gospel presents some of the commandments. Jesus reminds us that we already know what we need to know. We already have heard the Ten Commandments and memorized the Golden Rule…
The Salt of the Earth
5 Epiphany – February 5, 2017 Matthew 5:13-20 “You are the salt of the earth…” “You are the light of the world.” We are in the church season of Epiphany and Epiphany is a word which itself means “appearing” or “showing forth”. Epiphany is a season that beckons us to ponder what it is that God desires to manifest through us, and to wrestle with what hinders this. There is much, both within us and without, that works against savoring…
I’ll Be Happy When
4 Epiphany – January 29, 2017 Matthew 5:1-12 See if you can finish this sentence: “I’ll be happy when….” There must be a thousand possible endings for that sentence. “I’ll be happy when….” I’ll be happy when I grow up and move away from home. I’ll be happy when summer comes and I don’t have to go to school. I’ll be happy when I fall in love and get married. I’ll be happy when I can buy a new car.…
Fishers of Men
3 Epiphany – January 22, 2017 Matthew 4:12-23 On Epiphany Sunday I spoke about hope. That the Epiphany story is one of hope. Today, I continue that theme in the midst of geography. How so? you ask. What does geography have to do with it? Well, our gospel passage begins with Jesus’ hearing the news that John has been arrested. It’s rather ominous. Soon after Jesus starts to live into his baptism, he hears that John, his baptizer and…
What Hope Is Made Of
Epiphany – January 8, 2017 Matthew 2:1-12 I have always loved the Epiphany story, the story of the Magi – those Wise Men from the East – searching for the baby Jesus. I love it because, for me, it is a story of hope. The wise men were following a star, a star that would lead the way to the king of the Jews. They made it to Jerusalem, but they needed some additional help, some assistance, so they asked…
Are You the Messiah?
3 Advent – December 11, 2016 Matthew 11:2-11 So, today we hear that John the Baptist is in prison. Imagine John’s cell was dark and dank. Prison cells usually are. He paced back and forth, fettered less by his chains than by his misgivings. Allowed at last to see one of his followers, he sends the man to carry a message — a single question, really — that will settle his doubts once and for all. All that was left…
Life is Like a Journey on a Train
1 Advent – November 27, 2016 Matthew 24:36-44 So, it’s the beginning of the new year, the new church calendar year – it is the first Sunday of Advent. Just when we think we should start hearing about shepherds and stables and stars, we get floods and kidnappers and thieves. So what’s up with Advent? Why do we begin here, with stories about the end times? Perhaps because “getting ready” is not about lights and poinsettias and wreaths and trees.…
Where Do We Go From Here? (Post-Election)
26 Pentecost, Proper 28 – November 13, 2016 Luke 21:5-19 Wow! What a week. I think we are all exhausted by the months leading up to the election and now the aftermath of the election itself. I am saddened, deeply saddened, by some of the mean-spirited things posted on social media and what I’ve seen on the news in these last few days. Where do we go from here? Well, Luke’s gospel this morning – interestingly enough- helps us speak…
Convention Report – Episcopal Church of the Trinity, Coatesville
Note: Rev. Deets was asked to provide an update on Trinity Church at the 2016 Diocese of Pennsylvania annual convention. Below is the text of that address. Convention Report – November 5, 2016 Trinity Church and Community Engagement Good morning! My name is Sherry Deets and I come to you this morning as the Rector of Trinity Church in Coatesville. Not that long ago, you would have seen Trinity, Coatesville in the budget as an aided parish, so it seems…
Dinner at Kathy and David’s House
24 Pentecost, Proper 26 – October 30, 2016 Luke 19:1-10 Crowds follow Jesus these days nearly everywhere he goes. They parade behind him and in front of him, crushing in close or watching from a safe distance. They are curious and want to hear, touch, or maybe just see what happens when others interact with this man people say has come from God. What essence does he emanate? What do they sense in him, want from him? Might he not…
Old Turtle and the Broken Truth
23 Pentecost, Proper 25 – October 23, 2016 Luke 18:9-14 Jesus tells another parable about prayer, this one intended for those “who trust in themselves”. With this in mind, the Pharisee’s actions and words make him the obvious fall guy. We picture him as loud, arrogant and too sure of himself. We hear his self–satisfied prayer: “God, I thank you that I am not like other people: thieves, rogues, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a…
I’m Grateful
21 Pentecost, Proper 23 – October 9, 2016 Luke 17:11-19 Our gospel lesson begins with Jesus walking through an unidentified region between Samaria and Galilee. This is actually an important detail, because that region would have been potentially hostile territory, an unsafe area that is neither inside, nor outside Jewish territory. It is in between space. In that in between space, ten lepers approached Jesus. Now remember that at that time, a diagnosis of leprosy was pretty much treated like…