For the last several weeks, we have been walking with the disciples through Mark Chapters 8-10. In many ways, we have seen how easy it was for Jesus to disappoint his disciples and followers. He disappointed Peter by suggesting that he would suffer and die before...

Be with us, be with us, most merciful Jesus, our great High Priest.  And be known to us, as you were known to your first disciples, in Scripture and the breaking of bread.  Grant this for the sake of your love.  Amen. As often as I can, I pray this prayer with our...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. As someone who parents children, as well as someone who communicates the Gospel to children professionally, I have had the good fortune to reflect often on the ways in which children show up in...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. I’d like to share a story with you about a man named Stephen Siller.  I first saw the story in a Tik-Tok video recorded on 9/11 at the memorial at Ground Zero. And I sent the video to Tracey,...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. “Jesus sat down, called the Twelve, and said to them, ‘Whoever wants to be first must be last of all and servant of all.’”  The contrast couldn’t be any greater.  For the second time now, Jesus...

In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN. “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers and sisters, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. For all of us make many mistakes.” I guess I should have read the letter of...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Today’s Gospel lesson gives us two stories about Jesus.  In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus is both an exorcist and a healer.  He brings us the Kingdom of God, which, from the beginning, is in conflict...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. On July 1, 1986, the month before I turned 8 years old, the state of Louisiana made it a law that you had to wear your seatbelt in the car.  I don’t remember, of course, whether such laws were...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Once upon a time in the Deep South, a hungry man was having breakfast at a diner.   A waitress took his order, and he asked for bacon and eggs with coffee.   She brought the coffee right away,...

In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. AMEN. The spiritual state of acedia is probably the most important spiritual concept you’ve never heard of. Indeed, it is so important that, eventually, it made its way into the infamous catalog of the “Seven Deadly...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Today, brothers and sisters, we are baptizing a little boy named Daniel.  He is just nine months old, and we are initiating him into the Body of Christ.  Every baptism is a joyful occasion in...

In the Name of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  Amen. Our reading from John today is like a three-act play. In Act 1 we have the story so many of us know so well, the only miracle story of Jesus told in all four Gospels. Jesus takes bread, blesses it, breaks it,...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. “As Jesus went ashore, he saw a great crowd; and he had compassion for them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd.” “No Child Left Behind.”  That’s the name of a federal law passed in...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Today the lectionary includes not one, but two stories of prophets who got in a great deal of trouble for the messages they offered to their communities. While Amos apparently survived his...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain For purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain! America!  America! God shed his grace on thee, And crown thy good with...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. I will exalt you, O Lord, because you have lifted me up * and have not let my enemies triumph over me.   O Lord my God, I cried out to you, * and you restored me to health.   You...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. A former parishioner of mine is a professional photographer.  And, as a parting gift to me, she gave me a photo of the altar at the church where we used to serve together.  It’s in my office at...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. “For the greater glory of God.”  That's the motto of the Society of Jesus, a Roman Catholic religious order for men, commonly known as the Jesuits.  The Jesuits are committed to living as...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. “Out of the depths have I called to you, O LORD.  Lord, hear my voice.” By the time we reach adulthood, sometimes earlier, most of us have experienced death and grief.  And, as I’ve shared with...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Dear Mr. Vernon, We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong. But, we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who...