Sermons from 2021 (Page 3)

5 Easter – May 2, 2021 John 15:1-8 and Acts 8:26-40           We are given two rich pieces of scripture today, the amazing story of Ethiopian eunuch and the story of the vine and the branches. Jesus is telling us that we are the branches and he is the vine – that we cannot bear fruit by ourselves unless we abide in the vine. It’s a counter cultural message in this age of ‘pulling ourselves up by our bootstraps’ and…

4 Easter – April 25, 2021 John 10:11-18           Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd”. This usually conjures up, for me, the image of Jesus holding a sheep lovingly and tenderly in his arms and it’s actually an image I have hanging on my wall at home. It brings me comfort. Just prior to our gospel reading today, Jesus contrasted the shepherd with thieves and bandits, but today the contrast is between the good shepherd and the hired hand.…

2 Easter – April 11, 2021 John 20:19-31           We’re hearing about two resurrection stories this morning. Jesus appearing one week after the first, coming through locked and closed doors, saying “peace be with you” for the second time. And so, today, one week after we shout, “Alleluia!” and sing, “Christ the Lord is Risen Today!” John invites us to face our doubts, speak our fears, and yearn for more — more intimacy, more encounter, more experience of the living, breathing Christ. …

Easter – April 4, 2021 John 20:1-18           While it is still dark, Mary arrives at the tomb and finds the stone has been removed. The entryway is open wide. Mary was grieving – imagine how she must have felt when she realized Jesus’ body was not there. It’s odd, mysterious, uncomfortable, a little scary – they’re just a few descriptors that come to mind. And then she runs to share this news with two other disciples who then run…

Good Friday – April 2, 2021          And so, it is Good Friday. It’s day of paradox, of tension, of contradiction. It’s a day of darkness and light.  It is a day filled with vulnerability and truth. On Good Friday, we find ourselves standing at the foot of the cross. Beholding the cross. And through Jesus, we are ultimately faced with choosing between the tale of two kingdoms.  God’s kingdom or the world’s kingdom.  Which do we choose? Last evening,…

Maundy Thursday – April 2021          Jesus, knowing that he was about to die, spent his last night sharing a meal with his disciples and teaching them, by example, by washing their feet. He was pointing out that no one person is greater than another.  And he leaves us with a new commandment:  “…that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” What does this mean to you…now….today?   What does it look…

4 Lent – March 14, 2021 John 3:14-21          Today’s scripture is filled with paradox.  Fascinating paradox.  In our first reading, God tells Moses to make a poisonous serpent out of bronze, set it on a pole; and everyone who is bitten shall look at it and live.”  And then Jesus reminds us of this in our gospel passage.  Doesn’t that strike you as odd?  Healed by looking at a serpent on a pole? It’s important to know that, in…

3 Lent – March 7,  2021 John 2:13-22           Today we’re hearing about one of the few times in scripture where Jesus is angry. A righteous anger to be sure, but wow….making a whip of cords, driving the animals and people out of the temple, pouring out coins and overturning tables. This is not a description of a meek and mild Jesus, for sure. So, a little background on the times to help us understand where Jesus was coming from…

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…