Sermons from September 2022

16 Pentecost, Proper 21 – September 25, 2022 Luke 16:19-31          My friend Barbara says that “each of us has things we tell ourselves to protect us from the pain of those around us. For example: we’ll say things like, well, if only he had not dropped out of high school. If only she had not had so many babies. If he would just learn more English. If she would only stop drinking. It’s human nature to find some reason…

13 Pentecost, Proper 18 – September 4, 2022 Luke 14:25-33      I don’t know about you, but I see today’s reading as quite challenging. Hating father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters and even life itself.  What’s that about? Here is another case in which context is important.  The phrase “to hate” is a Semitic expression which means “to turn away from, to detach oneself from.”  So, it shouldn’t be taken literally here.  It does not intend to…