Category Archives: Sermons

“Through humility and mutual love, some have entertained angels”

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Proper 17C (Luke 14:1, 7-14)  08-29-2010

Yesterday my family traveled to Long Island for the day, participating in a visit day that is part of my daughter’s college search. With the exception of the Hutchinson Parkway, the entire day was a great experience. And my all-knowing GPS unit quickly handled even the Parkway, so even that part of the day was just fine. Participating in the college visit day reminded me of the entire process of selecting a college. This is a big decision and the process should be a reflective exercise of what is important and an exploration of why certain items hold greater significance than others. And visiting is important also because being in a certain place and experiencing the people, the atmosphere and the surroundings is important.

However, the college selection process is also a two-sided street. Prospective students are not the only ones who get to make decisions – the college admissions offices get to make some decisions too. College applications must be filled out and submitted for review. Prospective students must write essays and list many facets of their academic, work and general life experiences. Reviewing college applications reminds me of my volunteer experience of interviewing prospective students for the US Naval Academy. After talking with the students for a bit about general information, I would ask them to describe one or two of their extracurricular activities. After listening to their description, I would ask them why the activity was so important to them…what was particularly important to them. As I listened carefully, sometimes their answers surprised me. Continue reading →

“Persistence in prayer – Drawing close to God”

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Proper 12C (Luke 11:1-13)  07/25/2010

Jeremy Taylor, the 17th century Anglican bishop and theologian wrote in a letter, “Pray frequently and effectually; I had rather your prayers should be often than long.”[i] This morning we hear Jesus teaching his friends a lesson about prayer. Prayer is one of our most powerful and personal connections to God. Prayer is the conversational connection that nourishes and strengthens our relationship with God. And if we seek relationship with God, or anyone else for that matter, we need to be in regular conversation.

More than 30 years ago, a young man sat among a group of his peers and celebrated his college graduation: a day that recognizes the culmination of many hours of hard work and a day that celebrates the graduate’s relationship with others – family, friends, and professors. After throwing his cap in the air and receiving the congratulations of his family, the young man searched for his favorite college professor. He found his professor and thanked him for his wisdom and his friendship throughout his college years. The professor was fond of the young man and asked him if he would please stay in touch throughout the years ahead – and the young man promised that he would stay in touch. The young man then began his journey in the world, searching for all the success the world had to offer him. As the days after his college graduation turned to months and the months turned to years, he finally achieved the success he sought, but he never did keep the promise he made to his old college professor. He drifted away from him, pulled by the strong current of the pressing cares of the world…until one day when he heard his professor’s name on a late night television show.[ii] Continue reading →

“There are no boundaries to the one we call neighbor – love with great mercy”

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Proper 10C (Lk 10:25-37)  07-11-2010

“Who is my neighbor?” An important question for us to consider and, as we hear this morning, the answer has consequences for our actions. Last weekend, Carol and I spent the first part of the long July 4th weekend in our yard, pulling up weeds and putting down mulch. A lot of hard work, especially in the heat, but our yard looks much better and hopefully our neighbors are happy with the improvements. Who is my neighbor – in this case, the people who live in the area near our house. After working in the yard, we spent the remainder of our weekend at the beach and enjoyed the cooler temperatures and the annual festivities of the July 4th weekend. During our visit to the beach we met many of the same people who are there year after year, but we also saw many new people – visitors we had never met before. For the duration of the weekend, we enjoyed some rest and had the opportunity to share fun and fellowship with others – and all of these people were our beach neighbors. But as the weekend came to an end and many of the visitors began to go home, the focus of attention along the beach turned to a rather large tree. Continue reading →

“No mighty acts – instead, an invitation to pray with God”

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Proper 7C (1 Kings 19:1-15a)  06/20/2010

Last weekend I was very happy to be part of the group of volunteers that represented St. John’s Church at Celebrate! West Hartford. Although the rain did dampen the turnout of people for a time on Saturday, we had a great experience and met many people – friends both new and old. And we had many fun events: drawings for gift cards; colorful wristbands; face painting; and the ever challenging “guess how many jellybeans are in the jar” contest. As I watched the people come and go from our booth, the jar of jellybeans was among the most fun to watch. Throughout the weekend, I observed many different types of people. There was the “just guess because your first thought is the right answer” person; there was “pick up the jar and shake the jellybeans” person; and there were several mathematicians of all ages, who carefully counted the jellybeans within a selected area of the jar and then carefully applied various equations to achieve their answer. And as interesting as all these approaches were to watch, my favorite jellybean guesser was a young girl, probably about 3 or 4 years old, who was perhaps just an inch or two taller than the table that held the jar of jellybeans. She approached the table with great confidence and stared intently at the looming jar of jellybeans before her. After a few moments of intense examination, I asked her if she knew how many jellybeans were in the jar and if she would like to write her guess down on the entry form. She told me that she did know how many jellybeans were in the jar, but she did not know how to write the number. I told her if she could tell me her guess, I would write the number on the paper for her. She agreed and with both hands shooting into the air she joyfully exclaimed, “my guess is infinity!” Continue reading →

“Through Christ, we find redemption”

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Pentecost 2C (1 Kings 17:8-24; Lk 7:11-17)  06/06/2010

This morning, we appear to have a single story to consider as we listen to our Scripture lessons. And the story is this: a poor widow is met at the gate of the city by a man who is busy fulfilling the mission of God. The widow, living with very little to her name (other than her only son), eventually loses her child…her last great treasure. Through the divine will of God, the dead son is brought back to life. And the man who has acted on God’s behalf to bring about this miraculous event is proclaimed to be a great prophet and God’s favor is believed to be with the people. Surely, this story is an amazing story to tell and retell throughout the generations. A story that exemplifies the power and authority of God, but when we hear this story from Luke’s Gospel account, the meaning of the story expands beyond the power and authority of God and speaks of Christ’s particular mission of redemption…and as a people redeemed through the saving grace of Jesus, the redemptive power of this Gospel lesson holds special meaning and is a lesson for how we might live our lives with each other. Continue reading →

“The Spirit of God leads us on a journey of unfolding truth”

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Trinity Sunday Yr C (Jn 16:12-15)  05/30/2010

During this season of school graduations, I am reminded that shortly after my college graduation I moved to Florida to attend the Navy’s Nuclear Power School. The school was an intensive 6-month training course designed to teach the details of nuclear power plant operations. The course work kept everyone very busy, with 40 hours of classroom time and usually 30-40 additional hours of study time each week. After several weeks of this rigorous routine, nearly everyone was exhausted. And although we were exhausted, as new Naval Officers we tried to keep a low profile and quietly maintain the demanding study routine…with the exception of one particular student. The one member of the student body that was not a young officer hoping to make it through school and report to their first ship was a Navy pilot – a Captain who had been selected to serve as commanding officer of an aircraft carrier. As the future commanding officer of a nuclear powered ship, he needed to understand how the nuclear power plant worked, so he was sent to school…much to his dismay. One day the Captain raised his hand and said to the instructor, “All of this information is very interesting, but I would like you to teach us only what we really need to know.” Perplexed, the instructor replied, “Captain, this is all important information.” “Oh, I’m sure it is,” replied the Captain, “but the information on the test is probably the most important information, so why don’t you take special care to highlight that information for us.” The instructor, a young junior officer himself, stood speechless in front of the room, wondering how to respond to the Captain’s rather direct request.

Difficult topics require the very best we have to offer. The complexities of our lives and our relationships can demand our very best thinking; demand that we live through moments of uncertainty; demand our patience as we live into the unfolding truth as that truth is revealed. Continue reading →

“Unexpected Grace”

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Seventh Sunday after Easter Yr C (Acts 16:16-34)  05-16-2010

Nearly 20 years ago, Steven Spielberg introduced many people to the story of Oskar Schindler in his dramatic and powerful movie, Schindler’s List. The movie tells the story of a businessman who saves hundreds of Polish Jews from the horror and almost certain death of the concentration camps of the Nazi regime. But the fact that Schindler saved hundreds of Jews is actually the end of the story and not how the story begins. In the beginning of the story, Oskar Schindler set out only to establish a factory that he hoped would be a successful business venture. He began hiring workers for his factory and in an effort to make the greatest profit he hired people who would accept the lowest wage…and the Jewish people of Krakow were paid the lowest wage. His factory was run and staffed by Jewish workers and throughout the difficult days of World War II, things began to change between Schindler and his workers. Unexpected events occurred and gifts of unexpected grace entered their lives and changed their futures. Unexpected grace would change the lives of hundreds of Jews. And unexpected grace would forever change Oskar Schindler. Unexpected events point us toward the grace that is present in our lives, but sometimes comes to us in unexpected ways. Continue reading →

“Following Christ beyond our boundaries”

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Fifth Sunday of Easter YR C (Acts 11:1-18)  05-02-2010

Boundaries. The order of our lives is often maintained by boundaries. We create boundaries by establishing laws, drawing lines, and setting limitations. Much of my recent vacation was defined by various boundaries, beginning with my airline boarding pass, which told me I had a seat on the Southwest plane and the order in which I was to stand in line. There were lines for the boundaries of the baggage check line; lines for the roller coaster rides at the amusement park, and nearly every restaurant required that you place your name on a list so they could establish the boundaries of when you would eat and the table that was most appropriate for the size of your party. Boundaries followed me throughout my vacation…and as we were ending our vacation, standing in the very long baggage check line at the Tampa airport, an employee of Southwest airlines came forward to pass along some news about the boundaries of the baggage check line. She told us that it is not permitted to check bags prior to 4 hours in advance of your flight time. She then requested anyone whose flight was more than 4 hours from the current time to please leave the baggage check line. For those people, their time had not yet come…and the established boundaries did not permit their participation. Continue reading →

“Blessed are we who are called to serve others”

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Second Sunday of Easter Yr C (Jn 20:19-31)  04-11-2010

Throughout this past week, I have been drawn to the unfolding events of the mining disaster in West Virginia. The challenges to the recovery efforts persisted throughout the week, like unrelenting nightmares that refuse to loosen their hold on a community already grief-stricken with the loss of 25 people. Every morning, I turned on my television to hear the latest information and hoped to discover at least some good news from the brave efforts of the men and women who were working to rescue those miners who were unaccounted for in the initial search. Every morning, the media would ask the same question: can we believe the missing miners are still alive? And then the reporters would respond to their own question: the chances of anyone surviving are slim, but the families and all of us can still believe a miracle can happen. Continue reading →

“Renewed and reconciled by the resurrected Christ”

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Easter Morning Yr C (Jn 20:1-18)  04-04-2010

Among the many learning opportunities that are required of someone going through seminary training, I found that the 10 weeks I spent serving as a Chaplain intern especially rewarding. I spent the summer with some wonderful people at a continuing care retirement center in VA. After some introductory training, I was told to spend some time visiting folks in the assisted living and nursing care areas of the center. The vast majority of my visits were made to folks who lived alone, but there was one couple who lived together in one double room. This couple had been married for more than 60 years and I was looking forward to meeting them. I was told that they both suffered from varying degrees of dementia, in addition to other physical challenges, but I would be welcomed to visit them and the nurses were sure I would have a nice visit. As I entered the room, the man warmly greeted me as the woman slept in her bed next to him. He invited me to sit down and we started a nice conversation about many different topics…and throughout our conversation I noticed the room was full of many beautiful and interesting pictures and works of art. I suppose when you condense 60 years of life together in one room, only the most memorable pieces are selected. I asked the gentleman about one particularly beautiful wood carving of a Native American Chief riding on a stallion. He looked at the carving, agreed it was beautiful and then nodded his head toward his sleeping wife. He said, “I guess the carving his hers, I don’t know where she got it from.” I said, “Oh, your wife bought the carving.” He replied, “My wife, oh no, that’s not my wife. I have never seen her before they put us together in this room. I don’t know where my wife is right now.” I was struck by his reply: not because he couldn’t recognize his wife of 60 years – that was caused by the dementia. I was struck by his comment because this man and woman, after more than 60 years together, now lay in this room together, and he had lost his wife. Continue reading →