Palm Sunday April 10, 2022 Luke 19:28-40 Palm Sunday is one of those Sundays in the Church’s year that captures the imagination of most church-goers. Even people who don’t usually attend church appreciate the gift of a blessed palm, and we certainly have plenty of them to give away this year! Even though the liturgy…
Lent V April 3rd, 2022 Today’s Gospel reading from John contains a familiar story from Jesus’ life just before his arrival in Jerusalem and his betrayal, persecution, crucifixion, and resurrection. The basic motif – Jesus as a guest in a home, a woman who comes to anoint him – is found in all four synoptic…
Le Rév. Sam Owen L’Église Haïtienne du Bon Samaritain, Bronx I have a fig tree. Two years ago this tree was in a pot in the back yard. During the first summer of the pandemic, The tree produced a lot of figs, maybe 40 or 50. But before the fruit became ripe these figs would…
Dear Members and Friends of St. Esprit,(Français en bas de page | French at the bottom of the page) Following a recent meeting of the Vestry, I am writing with some cautious good news about in-person attendance at our Sunday and weekday services. The Vestry unanimously agreed to the following decisions: You will no longer…
Lent II March 13, 2022 Genesis 15:1-18 Philippians 3:17 – 4:1 Luke 13:31-35 Whenever we come across the Pharisees in a reading from the Bible, we tend to think that they are all antagonistic to Jesus’ mission. They ask him difficult questions that are framed as a trap. They collude with people who conspire against…
Lent I March 6, 2022 Deuteronomy 26:1-11 Romans 10:8b-13 Luke 4:1-13 The ability to tell the difference between good and evil or the difference between truth and lies isn’t as easy as we often wish it to be. The current war in Ukraine is one of the most dramatic illustrations of this fact. It’s…
Last Sunday of the Epiphany February 27th 2022 Exodus 34:29-35 II Corinthians 3:12 – 4:2 Luke 9:28-36 Today is the last Sunday in the season of Epiphany; the season of light. It started six weeks ago in the light of a star and the visit of the Magi, and ends today with the light shining…
Epiphany 7 February 20, 2022 Genesis 45:3-28 I Corinthians 15:35-50 Luke 6:27-38 In the Greco-Roman world of Paul’s day, a debate raged between those who prioritized the physical world of what we can see, hear, feel and taste, and those who prioritized the spiritual world of what we can intellectually or ‘spiritually’ perceive. The Jewish…
Epiphany 6 February 13, 2022 Jeremiah 17:5-10 1 Corinthians 15:12-20 Luke 6:17-26 When I first came to America, I was quite surprised by the widespread celebration of St. Valentine’s Day. In England, it was a rather embarrassing event. School crushes usually resulted in anonymous cards put on your desk. For older people it was a…
Fifth Sunday of the Epiphany February 6, 2022 Isaiah 6:1-8 I Corinthians 15:1-11 Luke 5:1-11 I want to begin by asking a question we have all asked at one time or another. Why is preaching a part of every Sunday service? We might think that the answer is obvious. Perhaps we think that the pastor…