Category Archives: sermon

Year C Proper 18: One lousy sales pitch

The other day, during a screening of the final movie in the Lord of the Rings trilogy – the one where all of the final battles happen and the last-ditch attempts to overcome evil in the face of incredible odds … Continue reading

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Tomorrow’s gospel

“No one starts a war, Jesus says, without first calculating the chances of winning. Otherwise, they may get drawn into open-ended, unending conflict, with no clear way out, sending life chasing after death as though they hate the lives of … Continue reading

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Year C Proper 17: An ambition for humility

So what happens if the audience at the dinner party follows Jesus’ advice? What if the next time they are invited out, they are falling over themselves and each other to sit at the foot of the table? What if … Continue reading

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Year C Proper 16: Jeremiah and Jesus

The Book of Jeremiah is a complicated document, and there are many scholarly debates about its history and its voices, its purpose and its people. What we read at its beginning, though, is a classic call story. “Here,” says God, … Continue reading

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Tomorrow’s sermon: extract

“In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus goes into a synagogue, to take part in the prayer of his community. He is faithful in his observance, and he is obedient to his tradition. He sees a woman in need of healing, and … Continue reading

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Year C Proper 15: “I came to bring fire”

Jesus said, “I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled! I have a baptism with which to be baptized, and what stress I am under, how I am strained, and constrained, and … Continue reading

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Tomorrow’s sermon: Fire

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Assumption

She spent a lot of time running away from reality. When she was young, she ran to the hill country. She sang revolutionary songs that she couldn’t hope to realize. She ran to Egypt, where the fires burn and courage … Continue reading

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The anniversary of a Transfiguration, a mushroom cloud and a drone strike

 Now about eight days after these sayings Jesus took with him Peter and John and James, and went up on the mountain to pray. And while he was praying, the appearance of his face changed, and his clothes became dazzling white. Suddenly they … Continue reading

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Year C Proper 13: the divine economy

There are some doors that money doesn’t open; there are some palms that cannot be greased. When Jesus is asked to interfere in a family financial dispute, he declines. Sort it out between yourselves, he tells them. Deal rightly with … Continue reading

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