Pentecost XIII September 4th, 2022 Jeremiah 18:1-11 Philemon 1-21 Luke 14:25-33 I have always felt an affinity for today’s reading from the prophet Jeremiah, because I was born in an English town well known for its pottery industry. This is the only reference to a potter’s wheel in the entire Bible. On my mother’s side…
Pentecost XII August 28, 2022 Jeremiah 2:4-13, Psalm 81:1, 10-16, Hebrews 13:1-8, 15-16, Luke 14:1, 7-14 This month, it has been 13 years since I arrived in the United States. Like many of us today who have come from abroad or experienced other cultures, one of the first things I did was to be amazed…
Pentecost XI August 21, 2022 Isaiah 58:9b-14 Psalm 103:1-8 Hebrews 12:18-29 Luke 13:10-17 Have you ever asked yourself how we are to know what God expects of us, as Christians? Once we have been baptized or we decide to follow Jesus, what comes next? As we begin to dive into Christian thinking and teaching, study…
Pentecost X August 14, 2022 Isaiah 5:1-7 Hebrews 11:29-12:2 Luke 12:49-56 About fifteen years ago, I bought a grape-vine for the little roof garden above my apartment. I bought it with high expectations: I imagined sitting in the shade under its branches, making delicious stuffed vine leaves and harvesting a modest bunch of grapes or…
Pentecost IX August 7th, 2022 Isaiah 1:1, 10-20 Hebrews 11:1-3, 8-16 Luke 12:32-40 “Don’t be afraid, little flock,” says Jesus, “for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.” Though this is one of the most reassuring and encouraging sayings of Jesus, it is also one of the hardest to understand. What is…
Pentecost 8 / Afrique fête July 31, 2022 Hosea 11:1-11 Colossians 3:1-11 Luke 12:13-21 Our Afrique Fête is one of my favorite Sundays of the year. It’s not just the conviviality of the occasion, and our celebration of, and support for the members of our church with deep connections to Africa that moves me. This…
Pentecost 7 July 24, 2022 Hosea 1:2-10 Colossians 2:6-19 Luke 11:1-13 Can you remember the first time you prayed? I’m not talking about the first time you learned the Lord’s prayer, or opened a prayer book to read something. I’m not even talking about the first time you faced a crisis and said a brief…
Pentecost VI July 17, 2022 Amos 8 :1-12 Colossians 1 :15-28 Luke 10 :38 – 42 In her book The Handmaid’s Tale, Margaret Atwood describes the dystopian Republic of Gilead, set in New England in the near-future. In Gilead, the men possess all the power, and women lose all their agency and their individuality. They are assigned just…
Église française du Saint Esprit Baptême d’Hortense 10 juillet 2022 Premiers pas Cette semaine Mademoiselle Hortense ici présente nous a donné une petite leçon de vie. Elle venait juste d’arriver avec ses parents, Justine et Vincent, dans cette grande ville de New York, dans le nouvel appartement que l’Eglise vient de récupérer dans l’immeuble…
Pentecost IV July 3, 2022 Isaiah 66:10-14 Galatians 6:1-18 Luke 10:1-20 On March 29th, 1998 a curious incident took place on the Island of Antigua in the West Indies. Fr. Gerard Critch, a Roman Catholic priest, developed the stigmata; a phenomenon in which the physical wounds suffered by Jesus at his crucifixion appear on the…