Harvest Thanksgiving / Christ the King November 21, 2021 II Samuel 23:1-7 Revelation 1:4-8 John 18:33-37 Our readings today are not the readings set for Thanksgiving. They are the readings set or the last Sunday in the season of Pentecost: the feast of Christ the King. The feast day of Christ the King was introduced…
Pentecost XXV November 14, 2021 Daniel 12:1-3 Hebrews 10:11-25 Mark 13:1-8 I have to admit to being a little hesitant about the ‘end times’ passages in the Bible. Because of the way in which they have been used by certain preachers, they are more likely to frighten people than they are to encourage them. They…
Twenty fourth Sunday after Pentecost November 7, 2021 Ruth 3:1-5; 4:13-17 Hebrews 9:24-28 Mark 12:38-44 The story of the widow who put her last pennies into the temple collection plate is a Sunday school favorite. It lends itself to dramatization, and Sunday school teachers can use lots of visual aids to help teach the story.…
All Saints Sunday October 31st 2021 Wisdom of Salomon 3:1-9 Revelation 21:1-6a John 11:32-44 The great Brazilian writer and theologian Rubem Alvez was born in Boa Esperança, Minas Gerais. In his book of essays On Time and Eternity, he speaks about funerals and the importance of stories. “Every burial is a planting. That’s what Jesus…
Pentecost XXII October 24, 2021 Job 38:1-7 Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35-45 Have you ever read a book or seen a film that has disappointed you with an unsatisfactory ending? I hate the feeling of being left in the lurch by an author or a screenwriter. You have stuck with the book or the film through…
Pentecost XXI October 17, 2021 Job 38:1-7, 34 – 41 Hebrews 5:1-10 Mark 10:35 – 45 “God has three sorts of servants in the world: some are slaves, and serve Him from fear; others are hirelings and serve for wages; and the last are sons and daughters, who serve because they love.” Thomas Secker Archbishop…
Pentecost XX October 10, 2021 Job 23:1-9, 16-17 Hebrews 4:12-16 Mark 10:17-31 I know that it’s only a small start, but I have to say that it is a truly wonderful feeling to be able to begin in-person worship on Sundays. I’ll try to describe just why that is in a moment, but for now,…
Pentecost XIX / Oktoberfest October 3, 2021 Job 1:1; 2:1-10 Hebrews 1:1-4, 2:5-12 Mark 10:2-16 Since we began celebrating an Oktoberfest in 2000, I’ve always looked forward to the occasion. This isn’t just because it’s an excuse for a party in the garden. It’s because it coincides with the beginning of a season of giving…
The Sunday closest to St. Michael and All Angels September 26, 2021 Genesis 28:10-17, Revelation 12:7-12, John 1:47-51 Most people today think of angels in one of three ways. There are those who are firmly convinced that immensely powerful spiritual beings exist, and that they occasionally make their presence felt to human beings such as…
Pentecost XVII / Rentrée Sunday September 19, 2021 Proverbs 31:10-31 James 3:13 – 4:3,7-8a Mark 9:30-37 Well, on our annual parish calendar, which we put together last November, today is supposed to be Rentrée Sunday, so welcome back to Saint Esprit! It’s obviously not the sort of Sunday we were imagining, but nevertheless there is…