Sermons by Sherry Deets (Page 12)

2 Lent – February 28, 2021 Mark 8:31-38           With all of the loss and pain and isolation and death we’ve been experiencing through this past year, Peter’s rebuke feels especially poignant at this time. I can relate to Peter. In our reading from Mark, Jesus predicts his death for the first time.  “The Son of Man must undergo great suffering,” Jesus tells his disciples.  He must “be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be…

Blessed Absalom Jones Feast – February 14, 2021 Isaiah 42:5-9 and John 15:12-15          Not sure how many of you watched the annual Diocesan service for Blessed Absalom Jones yesterday, but it was beautiful, it was well done. And the sermon by The Rt. Rev. Carlye Hughes – she is the Bishop of the Diocese of Newark, was inspiring. The theme this year is “out of many, one”.  You may recall that the Great Seal of the United States has…

4 Epiphany – January 31, 2021 Mark 1:21-28           So, I think today’s gospel story may be difficult for many of us to relate to. It sounds like an exorcism story and many of us have no direct experience of that. But there is so much we can learn from this story. Mark tells this story about unclean spirits and he tells it up front. In other words at the very beginning of the Gospel of Mark.  Keep in mind…

3 Epiphany – January 24, 2021 Mark 1:14-20 Our gospel reading begins a bit ominously, with John arrested and Jesus arriving in what was considered the backwaters of Capernaum in Galilee – Gentile territory.  This means that Jesus, who is beginning his ministry, does not go to some holy place, to some religious center. Instead, he withdraws to Galilee, heathen Galilee, Galilee of the Gentiles, a place where, according to Jewish belief, pure faith has been distorted. So at the…

1 Epiphany: Baptism of our Lord – January 10, 2021 Genesis 1:1-5 and Mark 1:4-11           I believe we are all disturbed, or should be disturbed, by the riots and siege of the US Capitol this past week. For me, at first, it felt like watching a movie or a tv show for entertainment value, knowing that something like that could never happen in real life. And then feeling sick, because it was really was happening. And I’m still trying…

Epiphany – January 3, 2021 Matthew 2:1-12           Eckhart Tolle has said – “No matter how long your journey appears to be, there is never more than this: one step, one breath, one moment….Now.”     Now. Today we are celebrating the Feast of the Epiphany – which actually occurs on Wednesday the 6th – the twelfth day of Christmas – but we’re moving the feast to celebrate it in today’s worship. I love the Epiphany story. It’s one of my favorites…

Christmas Eve 2020           And so it is Christmas. Granted, a Christmas like no other, no matter what your circumstances are.  And yet, we are hearing a familiar story. But this familiar story, for me, has taken on a deeper meaning because of the challenges presented this year. The ‘light shining in the darkness’ has taken me deeper this year. There is the somewhat obnoxious question to ask when going through a difficult, painful, dark time, of “where is God…

3 Advent – December 13, 2020 John 1:6-8, 19-28           If you’ve ever applied for a job, an internship, applied to graduate school or possibly for a grant, you’ve spent a lot of time crafting strategic answers to one question: “Who are you?”  If you’ve ever obsessed over your Facebook profile, or spent hours perfecting a Tweet, you know how complicated the question can get.  Who are you?  What is your brand?  What carefully packaged version of yourself do you want…

2 Advent – December 6, 2020 Mark 1:1-8           On August 1, 2020, the Sarah K. Evans Plaza opened in Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.   ( “Sarah K. Evans Inclusive Public Art Project,” accessed August 20, 2020, http://sarahkevansproject.com/) Sarah Evans, formerly known as Private Evans, is now 91 years old, and she reflects on the seemingly unremarkable event that led to this public recognition almost 70 years later. In 1952 Private Evans was on her way home from Fort Dix, her first…

1 Advent – November 29, 2020 Mark 13:24-37           It’s the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of a new church year. And here we are….at the beginning of Advent, still in the midst of the COVID crisis…bewildered, grieving, fearful, and exhausted.  And so, it’s rather fascinating that we are given the gift of the Advent apocalyptic readings, because, frankly, doesn’t what we’re going through this year feel somewhat apocalyptic?  Might we be thinking…where is God?  The Advent season is…

Last Sunday after Pentecost – November 22, 2020 Matthew 25:31-46 Today we celebrate Christ the King Sunday, it’s essentially a liturgical hinge between the long “Season After Pentecost,” and the beginning of the season of Advent.  So, we pause this week to reflect on the meaning of Christ’s reign over the Church, the world, and our lives. What kind of king is Jesus?  What does his rule look and feel like?  What does it mean to live and thrive under…

23 Pentecost, Proper 27 – November 8, 2020 Matthew 25:1-13           Today is the day after the calling of a long, contentious presidential election and we are presented with the parable of the ten bridesmaids. This week we also honor our Veterans. So, today, with all of that, we talk about healing. I think we can all agree that our nation has been divided and as Christians perhaps our present and immediate call is to heal that divide, to do…