Thanks to the winter storm that affected almost half the country, we had a virtual worship service once again this week. The verses from Matthew tell the story of Jesus calling some of his first followers, asking them to literally drop what they are doing and go catch people. Here is what I said. _______________________…
I know the saying is that necessity is the mother of invention, but I find, when it comes to cooking, that the pantry plays a pretty big role. From time to time, I take inventory just to see what I have and what needs to be used up. What gave birth to this recipe is…
Church got snowed out in Connecticut last Sunday—or at least our in-person worship did. I ended up recording my sermon from home and sharing it on YouTube, as many congregations learned how to do during the pandemic. Rather than following the lectionary, I am working my way through Matthew’s gospel, so this week’s sermon looks…
Jesus’ baptism is one of the most intriguing stories in the Gospels, not because it underlines the institutional rite but because of the way it validates our humanity. Here’s my sermon from last Sunday. ___________________________ A little over three hundred years after Jesus walked the earth (and Matthew and the others wrote down the gospel…
I spent the week wondering if the magi ever knew what their visit had helped to set in motion on a couple of fronts, which led me to this sermon. ______________________________ When I was in high school I had an after school job working as a gofer—all errands all the time—in a doctor’s office. It…
The magi came a week early at our church so we could look at the second half of the story (what happened after they left) sequentially, which means we get a clear look at the way Matthew framed the birth of Jesus–and it’s a tough picture. On our calendar, the travelers always arrive at the…
This last Sunday of Advent leans into Christmas at our church since many folks will not be around Christmas Eve. This morning we looked at Matthew’s telling of Joseph’s side of the experience, brief as it is. I closed our service with my last Advent carol, “Knock Again.” ________________________ When I read the brevity of…
quenched disorder I’d never seen those words beside each other until I read the phrase and the definition “the right level of randomness to explore the adjacent possible” let’s go back to quenching and the randomness I keep seeing little fires having to be put out and those little fires keep us paying attention the…
Our in-person worship got snowed out today, but I was able to record from home, so this sermon got to be more than just a manuscript. Joy is the theme of the third Sunday in Advent, and the scripture was Mary’s response to her surprising circumstance. Here’s where it took me. ___________________________ Of all the…
ice the rain came late this afternoon actually more of a drizzle or mist just enough to coat the streets before the temperature drops below freezing which means we will wake to a coating of ice that will impair our travel and leave some of us stranded or feeling fearful I wonder if it was…