Category Archives: sermon

Biblical widows and Granny Lyle

Granny Lyle was widowed in 1957. For as long as I knew her, she lived alone in a house not her own; she had never lived in her own home, going from her parents into service with the local doctor … Continue reading

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Raising the dead

They say that Elijah raised a fatherless child, stretched out corpselike over his body, breathing for him, with him, breathing until his new life began. His mother, from then on, developed a habit of peering over his shoulder into the … Continue reading

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Religious rituals and summer Sunday attendance

Two days after my mother died, at half past five in the morning, I heard a strange noise outside my bedroom window, the window of the spare bedroom in my parent’s house. It was a rasping, grinding, rolling, grunting, sighing … Continue reading

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Trinity Sunday 2013

(A sermon I won’t be there to preach, ironically because I am “suffering” from shingles. But my love and prayers are with the parish of Epiphany this morning, and I’m so glad to be in a relationship with them.) I … Continue reading

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Pentecost 2013

It was Pentecost. The disciples were gathered all together in one place. And the Holy Spirit came among them like a rush of wind, like the breath of god, the sound of a mighty exhalation, god whispering in what might … Continue reading

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Scary monsters at play

This may be irreligious, but… Have you ever had that person in your life (perhaps you are that person) who thought that it was funny to jump out from behind the sofa and yell “Boo!” at the climactic moment of … Continue reading

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Year C Easter 7: the shadow side of miracles

I think that this has been the week for miracles. Finding Amanda Berry and Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight along with a young child alive felt pretty miraculous, didn’t it? Then on Friday’s news, maybe you heard as I did … Continue reading

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Year C Easter 6: Light

Light is really special. During the last couple of centuries, scientists began to discover some really quite counter-intuitive things about light, the way that light moves, acts, has its being. We  think of light as beams, rays, waves. But light … Continue reading

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Year C Easter 5: What God has made

Last Monday, in case you missed it, was Earth Day; so it’s great and wonderful that our garden project is getting underway, taking advantage of the bounty of creation that God gave into our hands. According to the stories of … Continue reading

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Year C Easter 4: Washed in the blood of the Lamb

For the past several years, on the Sunday of the Cleveland Marathon, Trinity Cathedral, our Episcopal cathedral downtown, has taken to the streets during its education hour between services to cheer on the runners. The youth group and Sunday school … Continue reading

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