Category Archives: sermon

Year B Advent 3: Do not quench the Spirit

It really wasn’t the first time I’d spoken up at church. I mean, I’d been reading the Lessons since I was twelve; I’d been on the PCC, which is a rough English translation of Vestry. I’d taught Sunday School, participated … Continue reading →

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Do not quench the spirit

From the Lectionary for Year B Advent 3: 1 Thessalonians 5:19 Do not quench the spirit, pour cold water on its fervour; be afraid of the passion it inflames; that is only the beginning of wisdom. Let it burn. Do … Continue reading →

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Year B Advent 2: Comfort ye my people

This sermon quotes liberally and loosely the lectionary readings for the day throughout: Isaiah 40:1-11, Psalm 85, 2 Peter 3:8-15, Mark 1:1-8 Comfort, comfort ye my people. The history of this oracle is the return of the Exiles from Babylon … Continue reading →

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Wild honey

I will not be preaching about John the Baptist tomorrow, but I have been thinking about his wild honey habit and the sweetness of such mercies found along the way. Each of my mothers, who were both called Ann(e), had … Continue reading →

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Advent meditation: parables, fools, and poetry

Written for the Diocese of Ohio Advent meditations collection, Advent 2014 (see more at http://www.dohio.org) Readings for Thursday of the First Week of Advent: Psalm 118: 19-24; Isaiah 26: 1-6; Matthew 7: 21-27 Rock of Ages They called him a … Continue reading →

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Poisonous legacies and new tongues

The basic hagiography of Francis Xavier goes something like this: Born in 1506 in the Navarre region of France, Francis met Ignatius of Loyola as a young man, and was greatly influenced by his friendship. Together, with others, they formed … Continue reading →

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Year B Advent 1: Be the gospel

We enter Advent slap bang in the middle of Mark’s little apocalypse; this end of the world, stars falling out, desolating times piece of prophecy: the little apocalypse. The thing about apocalypse is that it comes up over and over … Continue reading →

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Sheep and goats: beyond the parable

The first goat I ever met as an individual, got to know as a person, as it were, lived in an urban back garden in Oxford, England. He did not, however, necessarily stay there. One evening, doing the dishes after … Continue reading →

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Year A Proper 28: the rewrite

At first glance, it’s an easy one. The master distributes wealth, gifts, talents. The recipients either put them to work and harvest their reward, or bury them, ignore them, and finally hand them back covered with dirt and none the … Continue reading →

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Year A Proper 27: Remembrance Day

The moral of the story that Jesus tells, the point of the parable is not “blink and you’ll miss it.” The kingdom of heaven is not a one-off, opportunity of a lifetime, miss it and you miss out, you should … Continue reading →

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