Pentecost XXI October 30, 2022 Habakkuk 1:1-2:4 II Thessalonians 1:1-12 Luke 19:1-10 Our story about Jesus, Zacchaeus and the fig tree is set in Jericho. It’s the same town where the Canaanite walls fell down at the sound of the invading Hebrews’ trumpets. It is one of the oldest cities in the world. It…
Pentecost XX October 23rd, 2022 Joel 2:23-32 2 Timothy 4:6-8, 16-18 Luke 18:9-14 Did you know that self-help books published in the United States of America account for one billion dollars per year? I’m sure that the Bible isn’t counted as one of those books, but perhaps it should be! They are more likely to…
Pentecost XIX (PROPER 24C) October 16th, 2022 Jeremiah 31:27-34 II Timothy 3:14-4:5 Luke 18:1-8 When I read the readings to prepare to write a sermon, I like to put in my mind a little sentence summarizing the whole message I am hearing. Today, for me, God’s message is “watch, pray and be fervent, the…
Pentecost XVIII October 9th, 2022 Jeremiah 29:1, 4 –7 II Timothy 2:8-15 Luke 17:11-19 Whenever I hear the story of the ten lepers in the Gospel of Luke, I am always intrigued by the nature of the healing or ‘cleansing’ they received at the hands of Jesus. I once worked for several weeks in…
OKTOBERFEST October 2nd, 2022 Lamentations 1:1-6 II Timothy 1:1-14 Luke 17:5-10 I think we celebrated our first Oktoberfest at St. Esprit in 1998, in response to the fact that we had several German members and German speakers at the time. It might be that some people find it a bit strange that we celebrate…