In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. I’d like to start off this morning by thanking all of you for some time spent away with my family.  Thanks to everyone who stepped up in my absence, especially those involved in planning and...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. As many of you know, our Diocese has a large and impressive facility called Camp Allen, located outside of Navasota northwest of Houston. If I’m counting correctly, I’ve already been there and...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Our Gospel reading this morning gives us the only story in the Gospels, and indeed the only reference in the entire New Testament, to Jesus’s childhood. Other Gospels that did not make it into the...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. “To all who received him, who believed in his Name, he gave power to become children of God.”  These words are written in the Gospel this morning.  They echo something that’s also said in the...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Have you ever had to rely on other people?  Maybe, in a time of crisis, or of loss, you reached out to your family.  Maybe you spoke to somebody at work, or one of your friends.  Maybe you even...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Recently, I saw one of the most joyful events I have seen in a long, long time.  Last Tuesday night, Pine Tree High School was performing in their annual Christmas concert here at Trinity.  Dozens...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Let me tell you about some people I know.  One is estranged from two of his adult children.  Another struggles with forgiving her mother.  Still another with life-threatening illness.  There’s the...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. In the world outside of this church service, we bask in the echoes of our American Thanksgiving on this First Sunday of Advent. Perhaps we are still hung over in some sense (not literally) from...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. I’ll never forget the time when I was a kid, probably about 8 or 9, and my mom walked into our den one Saturday morning. I was an early riser then, and I had probably been up for a while by that...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. St. Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our defense against the wickedness and snares of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray, and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly hosts, by...

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. On this mountain, the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wines, of rich food filled with marrow, of well-aged wines strained clear.  And he will...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. It’s easy to hear about the ancient Israelites and feel quite distant from them sometimes. Their understanding of the world, their experiences, their religious practices can all seem quite...

In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen. Most often, we hear today’s lesson from Jeremiah at the Great Vigil of Easter.  Speaking to the Jews in a time of exile, God promises to renew his Covenant with them, and to bring them home. ...

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...